FCC Approves Auction Plan

The commission on Thursday approved by a 3-2 vote, a plan that also promises to have a huge impact on the media landscape: the auctioning of broadcast airwaves for wireless use.

The auction, according to Variety, is scheduled to take place in 2015 and is meant to respond to the growth in wireless services, via smartphones and tablets, and free up additional capacity as a way to spur innovation.

The result, however, is likely to remake the channel lineup, particularly in the UHF band.

Stations are being asked to decide whether to give up their spectrum, meaning some will either shut down or share a channel with another outlet. Those airwaves then will be auctioned off to wireless carriers, with stations sharing in the proceeds. Other funds will be used to create a wireless emergency network, as well as to pay down national debt.

Although Congress approved of auctioning off broadcast spectrum in 2012, it was left to the FCC to implement it, in a complex plan that also has been tinged with controversy.

Broadcasters have been wary of how the FCC will carry out the auction, warning of a host of issues including that stations which remain in business will see a reduced coverage area, or that they will face disruption if they are moved on the channel lineup. But their reticence is also about the very idea that the primacy of broadcasting as a communications is shifting to broadband.

Dennis Wharton

In response, NAB Executive Vice President of Communications Dennis Wharton issued the following statement:

"While NAB acknowledges the incredibly hard work by FCC staff, we are disappointed that today's vote fails the mandate of Congress to hold harmless those broadcasters who choose not to participate in the spectrum auction.

"Simply put, a deeply-divided Commission chose not to fulfill required obligations under the Spectrum Act. It adopted new coverage and interference software that has not yet worked, potentially jeopardizing hundreds of TV stations and millions of over-the-air television users. It takes for granted that the yet-to-be-released auction and repacking software will work flawlessly. The FCC cavalierly concluded that broadcasters forced into a shrunken TV band won't be guaranteed full compensation for this disruptive move - as was the express intent of Congress.

"The order today threatens diverse programming sources and diminishes a vibrant free and local news, entertainment and information source for millions of Americans who can't afford $200 a month pay TV and broadband bills. NAB will pursue every avenue to get the auction back on track and ensure that broadcasters and our viewers are protected -- as Congress mandated in the Act."