The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology’s plans...

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology’s plans to use the TVStudy software to conduct the incentive auction instead of the OET-69 software oversteps the agency’s authority and violates both the Spectrum Act and the Administrative Procedures Act, said NAB in comments filed with the FCC Friday (http://bit.ly/1jbr2h1). “The Spectrum Act requires the Commission to use ‘all reasonable efforts to preserve’ coverage areas and populations served for each broadcast television licensee, as those values were calculated using the ‘methodology’ in effect on February 22, 2012, when the Spectrum Act was enacted,” said NAB. That includes the OET-69 methodology and the software used to generate interference predictions and calculate broadcaster coverage area, NAB said. Not using OET-69 carries “a strong presumption of unlawfulness,” NAB said. The broadcast association also criticized the FCC for allowing OET to publicize updates and change the TVStudy software through updates to a website rather than the normal public notice process, and through delegated authority rather than commission votes. “The Commission should not resolve major outstanding issues in the incentive auction proceeding at the Bureau and Office level,” NAB said. OET also deletes the prior version of the TVStudy software from its website as it’s updated, NAB said, “thereby depriving the public of a comprehensive record of OET’s actions.” The commission should “observe the requirements of the Spectrum Act and the APA now, before stakeholders commit to participating in a flawed proceeding that will be cumbersome and expensive to unwind,” said NAB.