The FCC should consider the incentive auction’s effect...

The FCC should consider the incentive auction’s effect on low-power TV stations and translators at every stage of the auction process, said the LPTV group Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance in an ex parte filing Monday (http://bit.ly/1fN2wEV). Though the Media Bureau has said it will recommend that an NPRM on the auction’s effects on LPTV be released after the auction report and order, that’s not soon enough, said ATBA. “If the FCC resolves all other auction issues before considering the treatment of LPTV and translators, some of the best options may have already been foreclosed,” said the filing. “The FCC does not have authority from Congress to simply dismantle the LPTV and translator industries or to achieve the same result by conducting the auction without consideration of the impact on these vital local services.” The FCC should be “an honest broker” in the incentive auction and allow the market to determine how much spectrum is needed rather than pressing broadcasters to participate, said ATBA. The commission shouldn’t care “how much spectrum is relinquished and re-sold, or even whether the auction closes at all in the reverse and forward auctions,” said ATBA. The FCC’s “clearly stated preference for repurposing as much spectrum as possible” is troubling because the FCC will be running the auction, ATBA said. The group also opposes the band plan proposed by the FCC because it emphasizes spectrum repurposing, the filing says. The commission should also allow flexible use for displaced LPTV and translator licensees, and issue a “time-out” on LPTV construction obligations until a reasonable period of time after the auction and repacking, the filing said. “No one could rationally dispute the futility of undertaking any LPTV construction when the FCC has taken the position that any or all facilities could be displaced at some time in the future,” said ATBA.