Gordon Smith |
In response to the FCC's proposed framework for the
broadcast spectrum incentive auction order Thursday, NAB President and CEO
Gordon Smith stated:
"NAB has deep reservations about the FCC’s incentive
auction framework order released this week. Broadcasters supported the
bipartisan Spectrum Act precisely because Congress captured the proper balance
between repurposing spectrum for mobile broadband while holding local TV
stations harmless in the process. As the two dissenting FCC Commissioners
noted, however, the incentive auction order turns this carefully crafted
balance on its head, transforming Congress’s desired win-win-win into a
significant setback for local broadcasters and our tens of millions of viewers.
According to Smith the order's fundamental flaw is that it
ignores Congress's clear direction to do no harm to broadcasters who choose not
to participate in the voluntary auction. Instead, the majority goes so far as
to suggest that the goal of repurposing broadcast spectrum for mobile broadband
is superior, rather than equal to, that of maintaining a healthy and robust
broadcast industry.
“Let's be clear: not a single American will know or
understand if its wireless carrier adds 10 or 20 new megahertz to its 150-plus
megahertz stockpile. They will, however, be quite angry if they are suddenly
deprived of access to local broadcasters' news, entertainment and public safety
information as a result of an auction gone awry.
"NAB still believes the auction can both be faithful to
Congress and be successful. To that end, however, the FCC must implement
policies that truly hold non-participants harmless. But if broadcasters are
coerced through unrelated regulatory actions that damage the economics of our
businesses -- or if auction rules undermine the many public services we deliver
today – then the auction ceases to be voluntary, and the balance Congress
painstakingly achieved evaporates. Now is the time for the FCC to make good on
its repeated promises not to damage a vibrant television business, and for
Congress to exercise the proper oversight needed to preserve a free, local and
lifeline programming source that is the envy of the world."
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