“With the start of the reverse auction just days away, the post-auction transition could be poised to begin in mere months,” NAB tells the FCC.
The broadcast trade lobby says it agrees with AT&T that the agency should begin planning now for the television channel repack.
NAB adds: “The potential for interference within and between adjacent markets will mean in many cases that all stations in a market may need to complete their channel moves in a carefully coordinated fashion, and that delays for individual stations may have widespread implications.”
While unknown now how many television stations will need to move and to what channels, the FCC can begin now to put a structure in place that will govern the transition to help ensure viewers don’t lose service and wireless carriers do not face “avoidable delays” in building out their licenses, according to NAB. It says reporting and dispute resolution should be part of this process.
NAB has stressed, and agrees with AT&T that a regional repack is best, starting with high population areas, and the commission should begin stakeholder outreach, it concludes.
