FCC Wants To Transition Broadcast TV Spectrum To Mobile Use
The plan calls for megahertz now reserved for broadcast television to be transitioned for use by mobile users.
"The Broadband Plan will represent the first important step in what my colleague, FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker, has urged us to pursue: 'an ongoing strategic planning process on spectrum policy -- to ensure that the agency's stewardship of the public's airwaves is smart, future-oriented, and serves as an ongoing engine of innovation and investment,'" Genachowski said at a New America Foundation conference in Washington, D.C.
The FCC will work with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration toward an appropriate balance in supply and demand of spectrum, establishing market-based mechanisms that enable spectrum intended for commercial use to flow to where the market needs it, he said.
To get there, the FCC is proposing a Mobile Future Auction, which permits existing spectrum licensees such as television broadcasters to voluntarily relinquish spectrum in exchange for a share of the auction proceeds. Genachowski also noted that existing licensees could engage in voluntary spectrum sharing or other spectrum efficiency measures.
"While overwhelmingly -- roughly 90 percent -- of Americans receive their broadcast TV programming in most major markets through cable wires or satellite signals, there are still millions of Americans who receive TV through over-the-air antenna TV. Broadcasters would be able to continue to serve their communities with free over-the-air local news, information and entertainment; and they would be able to experiment with mobile TV," Genachowski said.
There is a massive amount of unlocked value in the broadcast TV spectrum, Genachowski said, noting that one study found that as much as $50 billion in spectrum could be freed up if policies were adopted to transition broadcast spectrum to mobile spectrum.
"The highly valuable spectrum currently allocated for broadcast television is not being used efficiently -- indeed, much is not being used at all," Genachowski said.
Although about 300MHz of spectrum has been reserved for broadcast TV, in markets with less than 1 million people only about 36MHz is typically used. In larger markets, only about 100MHz to 150MHz out of 300MHz are now used for broadcast TV, he said.
"This is true even after the recent reallocation for digital television, which freed up some spectrum for mobile broadband. New technologies allow -- indeed, they require -- new strategic planning to ensure the most efficient use of spectrum, a vital public resource, especially given our broadband needs," Genachowski said.
