NAB’s Ornelas: over-the-air viewership is growing, not shrinking

By John Eggerton — Broadcasting & Cable, 1/26/2012 8:31:40 PM

Representatives of the cable and broadcast industries Thursday made the case for why those technologies would be key players in the wireless broadband space.
Speaking at a spectrum reallocation panel at the Minority Media & Telecommunications council’s Broadband and Social Justice Summit in Washington, NAB’s Chris Ornelas said that broadcasting could help offload wireless capacity that over-the-air broadcasters continued to serve a diverse population that should not be forgotten in the rush for “spectrum, spectrum, spectrum,” and that the over-the-air viewership was growing, not shrinking.  (read more)

Stalled talks reduce chances for legislation this yearBy Katy Bachman Ad Week

Negotiations between the House and Senate to resolve differences over spectrum bills that would free up spectrum for wireless services and public safety have stalled, reducing chances any spectrum legislation may pass this year.

“I’m disappointed that the House has unilaterally stopped negotiating with us on spectrum, but I’m not giving up,” said Sen. John Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, which passed the Senate spectrum bill earlier this year. In a statement, Rockefeller, who sponsored the Senate bill with Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Tex., still expressed hope that a compromise bill could be included in a final year-end package. (read more)

Marks the furthest such legislation has gotten in either House

By John Eggerton — Broadcasting & Cable, 12/13/2011 7:02:39 PM

The Republican payroll tax extension bill, which also includes spectrum incentive auction legislation, has passed the House of Representatives, which marks the furthest such legislation has gotten in either House. The legislation, which passed 234-193, essentially incorporates the Republican House version of legislation that authorizes the FCC to compensate broadcasters for returning spectrum that will then be re-auctioned for wireless broadband use.
Broadcasters have said they do not oppose voluntary reclamation and auctions so long as the FCC protects the coverage areas and interference protections of broadcasters left behind. The bill has such protections, and would compensate broadcasters and cable and satellite operators for the cost of “repacking” TV stations — having them move and share channels to free up contiguous blocks for auctioning. A handful of Republicans voted against the bill, and about the same number of Democrats voted for it. The Senate is unlikely to pass the payroll tax bill in its current form, and the president has pledged to veto it. Since Democrats have major issues with the spectrum bill, it may have to modified if it is to be part of an ultimately acceptable package, or deleted and voted on as a stand-alone at a later date.

December 13, 2011

See this important address of FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell:

http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db1208/DOC-311420A1.pdf

As federal officials proceed to repurpose television spectrum for the Internet, a parallel movement is under way to place the Internet under the control of the United Nations. In the words of Vladimir Putin of Russia, the goal is to “establish international control over the Internet using the monitoring and supervisory capabilities of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).”

Tyrants always restrict freedom of speech, and the most effective means of doing that is to close independent broadcasting stations and move communications to a system that can be monitored, controlled and instantly shut down.

Paul

Would launch the process of broadcaster relocation and spectrum auctioning

By John Eggerton — Broadcasting & Cable, 12/9/2011 1:36:37 PM

As expected, providing the FCC with authority to compensate broadcasters for moving off spectrum was included in the Republican’s end-of-year legislative package, which was released Friday.

The package, which includes Democrat must-pass legislation like the payroll tax holiday extension and unemployment benefits, generally incorporates the Jumpstarting Opportunity with Broadband Spectrum (JOBS) Act, a House Communications Subcommittee version of spectrum incentive auction authority that passed out of that committee last week.

The bill gives the FCC the authority to pay broadcasters for reclaiming some of their spectrum — it already has the authority to reclaim it, just not to pay for the privilege — and sets up a mechanism to auction it for wireless broadband, though technically anyone could bid on it. It uses some of the proceeds from that auction to compensate broadcasters — it does not say how much — and to build a broadband emergency communications network, with the rest, an estimated $15 billion going to deficit reduction. (read more)

From RBR/TVBR

06 December, 2011 01:24:00

JOBS Act could be added to legislative package

By John Eggerton — Broadcasting & Cable, 12/6/2011 12:26:35 PM

House Republican leadership is expected attach House spectrum incentive auction legislation to a broad, end-of-the year, must-pass bill, a House Energy & Commerce Committee source confirmed on background.

The Jumpstarting Opportunity with Broadband Spectrum (JOBS) Act passed the Communications Subcommittee last week, and the source said House leaders have indicated it could be added to that legislative package, which would extend the payroll tax holiday, as the president has called for, but also include things on the Republican’s wish list, like their version of the incentive auction bill, which would prevent the FCC from putting access conditions on spectrum reclaimed for wireless.

A Senate version of spectrum incentive auction legislation was added to the president’s Jobs bill back in September, but that bill failed to pass.

One D.C. bill-watcher said they expected the JOBS Act to be added to the package before it gets a full Commerce Committee vote. (read more)

From SVG-Sports Video Group 12-1-11

Adtec Digital is reaching out to industry partners and manufactures to help garner additional support for the Coalition for Free TV & Broadband, an organization formed to ensure the survival of free television and to offer solutions to the nation for better, cheaper wireless broadband utilizing the broadcast industry.

“We support what they are doing because it’s a reasonable thing to do, it could help create jobs, and it could allow the U.S. Treasury to collect more money than might otherwise be collected,” said Ron Johnson, president of Nashville based Adtec Digital. “We hope other manufactures will let their voices be heard by joining the Coalition and contacting their legislators. Simply stated, this is a better plan.”

The plan that Johnson refers to is devised by the television industry to maximize the efficient use of the television spectrum, to better serve the public by providing communities with more options for broadband service, to create thousands of new jobs and to create a continuous revenue stream to the U.S. Treasury. As proposed, the plan will raise $50-100 billion or more over the next 15 years to pay down the debt and not damage the local television industry. (read more)

TV Technology 11-29-11
WASHINGTON: Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) today introduced a spectrum bill he says will put around $15 billion in U.S. coffers. The Jumpstarting Opportunity with Broadband Spectrum Act of 2011 is said to be the culmination of five hearings and “extensive bipartisan negotiations” that left no one especially pleased.

“Following nearly a year of hearings, meetings, and negotiations, I am disappointed that we could not develop a bipartisan bill,” said Walden, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee. “But for the sake of the economy and public safety, we need to take the best ideas, which are represented in the JOBS Act, and move forward with a subcommittee vote on Thursday. No party, special interest, or lobby gets everything they want in this legislation.”

The bill addresses three primary areas: Reallocating TV spectrum for wireless broadband, designating bandwidth for a public safety network, and relocating federal entities using the airwaves. Among its provisions, the JOBS Act authorizes the Federal Communications Commission to hold incentive auctions, whereby broadcasters who give up spectrum receive a portion of the winning bids. The Obama Administration’s National Broadband Plan seeks to reclaim 20 TV channels for a nationwide wireless network. All stations would then have to be repacked in the remaining 29 channels. (read more)