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FCC
Seeks Comment on Proposals to Open TV Spectrum to New Wireless
Broadband Services
On
Tuesday, November 30, 2010, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NPRM) that seeks comment on three proposals
intended as initial steps to recover broadcast TV spectrum for
use by new wireless broadband services.
All of the
broadcast TV bands are under consideration for spectrum recovery
by the Commission. They are: the low VHF at 54 - 72 MHz (TV channels
2 - 4) and 76 - 88 MHz (TV channels 5 and 6), the high VHF at
174 - 216 MHz (TV channels 7 - 13) and the UHF band at 470 - 698
MHz (TV channels 148 - 51, excluding 37). In addition to full
service TV, there are a number of other secondary services that
are authorized to operate in the television bands, for example
low power TV, translators (LPTV), wireless mics and the recently
authorized TV White Space devices (TVWS).
The NPRM
says that the FCC is faced with an opportunity to provide more
flexibility and greater efficiency in use of the UHF and VHF TV
bands and that it is offering these proposals in order to ensure
that the spectrum is being used as efficiently and effectively
as possible, whether in terms of bandwidth or data capacity. The
NPRM states:
"…television
broadcasting in this country provides for a data rate of 19.4
mbps, that data rate is fixed irrespective of whether it is
actually being used for transmission of television programming
or other services such that at times a TV channel is essentially
idle. For example, if a TV station transmits an HD program that
uses an average of 10 mbps and one additional 2.5 mbps video
program, approximately 7 mbps of the stations available capacity/bandwidth
would be unused. Any applications that use a portion of the
capacity of a television signal are constrained to the ATSC
transmission system and do not have the option of a radiofrequency
return path in the same spectrum."
First, the
NPRM proposes to add a "FIXED/MOBILE" allocation
to all the TV bands (excluding channel 37). This would allow fixed
and mobile wireless broadband services to be co-primary with broadcast
TV. The NPRM also states that broadcast television stations and
other primary services operating on the spectrum to be recovered
will be protected from interference from new broadband services
for as long as they remain on channels in that spectrum.
The second
proposal explores enabling TV stations to voluntarily combine
their operations and programming on a single TV channel (Channel
Sharing). Shared channels may continue to employ multicasting
or mobile services but, the FCC proposes to require that all stations
utilizing a shared channel retain at least enough spectrum (bandwidth)
to operate one SD channel. Each station on a Shared Channel will
continue to be licensed separately, have its own call sign and
be separately subject to all of the Commission's obligations,
rules and policies. Each station's programming obligations will
remain the same (e.g., children's programming, political broadcasting,
EAS, indecency) and a station will not be responsible for the
programming or violations of any other station sharing its channel.
In addition, stations sharing a channel will retain their cable
and satellite carriage rights.
Finally, the
NPRM seeks comment on steps that would improve indoor TV
reception in the VHF bands (channels 2 - 13), such as by increasing
transmitting power and establishing minimum performance standards
for indoor antennas. Specifically, the FCC proposes to allow VHF
stations in TV Zone I to effectively increase their maximum ERP
by 6 dB to 40 kW for low-VHF stations, 120 kW for high-VHF stations.
In addition, the NPRM seeks comment on a proposal to adopt
performance standards for indoor consumer receive antennas by
requiring that they comply with the industry standards in ANSI/CEA-2032-A
which provides that antennas have a measured gain that exceeds:
-12 dBd on
all CEA test channels 2, 4 and 6
-8 dBd on
all CEA test channels 7, 9, 11 and 13
-8 dBd on
all CEA test channels contained in the UHF band (channels 14 -
[51])
The NPRM
states that to ensure compliance with these standards, indoor
antennas would be subject to the Commission's "verification"
equipment procedure in Part 2 of the rules. Also, the FCC encourages
stations to make use of the option to use increased power in the
vertical polarization as a means to improve reception of their
signals by indoor viewers. The FCC does acknowledge in the NPRM
that RF interference (RFI) and manmade noise is one of the problems
with indoor VHF reception but states: "…at least
at this time, we do not believe it would be fruitful to attempt
to reduce the permitted level of noise in the VHF bands."
Comments on the proposals contained in the NPRM will be
due to the FCC 45 days after it is published in the federal register
and reply comments will be due 30 days after that. The NPRM
is available on the FCC Web page at http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-10-196A1.pdf.
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