IRDs Not Must-Have in C-Band Transition, MobiTV Says

Assertions that integrated receiver/decoder equipment costs should be excluded from the C-band transition lump sum payments to MVPD earth station operators wrongly claim MVPDs that replace earth stations with fiber-based video delivery still have to employ IRDs, MobiTV said in an FCC docket 18-122 posting Monday: MVPDs that use MobiTV as a fiber-centric replacement to their C-band earth stations will still get video content while not using IRDs. The IPTV service said the C-band order seems to offer earth station operators a lump sum that could be used on alternatives such as fiber-based solutions, and the commission should be technology neutral and open to alternatives that don't require IRDs at local earth station sites.