WASHINGTON—With the cessation of LPTV analog broadcasts last year, the FCC is marking the official end of analog TV broadcasting in the U.S. by updating or outright eliminating analog TV rules. 

The transition to all digital broadcasting in the U.S. stretched over several decades with the first deadline coming in 2009 with the end of full-power analog TV broadcasts. The second phase involved the auction of broadcast spectrum in 2017 and the multi-year broadcast spectrum repack, which ended in 2020. With the aforementioned cessation of low-power analog TV broadcasting, the commission is seeking public comment (NPRM) on what rules are irrelevant, obsolete and what rules need to be updated. 

Specifically it wants to consider deleting, updating, or otherwise revising commission rules for full power and Class A stations that no longer have any practical effect post-digital transition plus it  wants to restructure sections of the commission’s rules that cover technical licensing, operating, and interference rules for full power television. “The proposed restructuring will make the rules more streamlined and easily understandable for our licensees and the public,” the commission said.

In 2021, the FCC adopted a new Table of TV Allotments for full power television stations, and amended part of its rules (part 74) to remove references to channels and frequency bands that were no longer in-core television spectrum, and analog TV operations. The new Table codified commission actions taken over the past several years that modified the TV channel allotments because of the incentive auction and repack. Some of the changes were also due to the 2009 DTV transition. 

In July the commission issued an NPRM proposing to modify rules for digital operations that were previously applicable to low-power analog operations, updating geographic coordinates, modifying station identification requirements, requiring LPTV stations to transmit with a virtual channel that avoids conflicts with other stations, updating the process for filing applications with the commission, and making certain technical modifications.

Proposals include:

• The elimination of entire rules and portions of rules that provide for analog-to-analog and analog-to-digital interference protection requirements and other analog operating requirements;
• Amend section headings and language in rules to remove references to DTV, digital, and analog television service, as these distinctions are no longer necessary;
• Delete outdated rules that are no longer valid given changes in commission-adopted policy, such as the elimination of the comparative hearing process to award and renew broadcast licenses, and
• Update previously-adopted station license periods and delete obsolete rules governing the post-incentive auction transition period and update filing rules and correct outdated, confusing or incorrect information on forms and rules.

The NPRM can be viewed here. 

WASHINGTON—There has been some confusion about just when the FCC's TV station repack actually ended—July 3, when the tenth and last phase concluded, according to the FCC's longstanding timeline, or July 13, which the FCC said Monday was the "deadline established for television stations to move off their pre-auction channel assignments."

Actually, it's a little of both, but it takes some explaining.

An FCC spokesperson did the honors:

"When we refer to July 13, 2020, we refer to the overall deadline for channels vacating their pre-auction channels and clearing the 600 MHz Band. The Commission in the Incentive Auction Report and Order created a 39-month transition period that ran from the date the auction closed, which was April 13, 2017, so the transition period ends pursuant to commission rules on July 13, 2020."

But wait, there's more.

"The Commission also delegated authority to the staff to create a more detailed plan to accomplish the broadcast transition. Pursuant to that authority, the Incentive Auction Task Force created the Transition Scheduling Plan, which was subject to notice and comment and was adopted in January 2017. It created a 10-phased transition within the 39-month period to implement the transition. The deadline assigned to phase 10 by the staff was July 3, 2020, which created a few days between the end of phase 10 and the 39-month deadline.

"The staff provided a few extensions from the end of phase 10 to July 13 today at 11:59 p.m. due to unforeseen circumstances, and the stations subject to those extensions are still transitioning within that period which are reflected on the change log on the commission’s website. In addition, there are a few additional stations that received extensions beyond July 13 but those will be completed soon and they do not implicate the 600 MHz band."

The FCC has given that last half-dozen stations until early September to complete their transitions because they do not implicate the spectrum bought by carriers, so the July 13 deadline for turning over the spectrum is still met. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai pointed out Monday (July 13) that they did not implicate that carrier spectrum because the channels were either in spectrum broadcasters are retaining or they were in the duplex gap, which is "buffer" spectrum.

So, as the FCC put it: "[A]ll of the valuable low-band airwaves sold in the ground-breaking broadcast incentive auction are now available for wireless mobile broadband services," as of July 13, which they said was the key deadline, and the one that was met.

But FCC officials added that they knew the job was not yet done until all stations, including some 15% of the 987-station total on temporary channels, were in new permanent homes, something the National Association of Broadcasters seconded in marking the July 13 deadline.

WASHINGTON—Phase 10 of the FCC’s TV spectrum repack that saw nearly 1,000 full-power and Class A television stations changing channel assignments ended July 3, bringing to a close the 39-month project—sort of.

Some stations, such as WFOX-TV, the Cox Television station licensed to Jacksonville, Fla., received an extension from the FCC to delay completion of their moves. Many others, especially stations in Phases 9 and 10 completed their move using interim facilities and side-mount antennas.

A review of the FCC’s Licensing and Management Systems reveals more than 40 requests for technical-related Special Temporary Authority (STA) by or on behalf of Full-Service Television licensees to operate from interim facilities, with reduced or alternate parameters (i.e. lower power), or with some other variance to enable stations to stay on air while awaiting installation and commissioning of their final facilities.

Some distributed Transmission Service broadcasters and Class A stations filed similar requests for STAs but in fewer numbers, according to the FCC’s LMS records.

STAs were “an effective tool” in enabling the repack to stay on schedule, says Brett Jenkins, CTO of Nexstar, the nation’s largest commercial broadcaster. Jenkins estimates that as many as 90% of the more than 100 TV stations the group repacked relied on interim facilities to stay on air while permanent antennas, waveguide and transmitters were installed.

“Were we happy about operating at lower heights and lower powers? Probably not,” says Jenkins. “But I think in most cases we were able to find adequate designs that would come reasonably close to replicating coverage. We tried not to disenfranchise the over-the-air viewer as much as possible.”

Joe Davis, a consulting engineer and president of Chesapeake RF Consultants, says most of the 120 stations he worked with on the repack relied on STAs to operate from interim facilities at some point—often to sidestep a shortage of tower crews to remove old antennas and transmission lines and install new ones.

“We were short on tower crews and that has aggravated the situation with the final operations,” says Davis, who co-authored the 2013 Widelity Report looking at the anticipated challenges and costs of the repack. “I have clients who were able to get their tower crew and install their interim antenna, and they were able to affect the cut-over with that, but then they had to wait for that crew or another crew to come back and do the final antenna.”

While viewers in the fringe of coverage may have suffered, broadcasters and consultants interviewed for this article report that operations from interim facilities effectively covered viewers in their stations’ DMAs or those of their clients.

Further, the repack gave broadcasters an opportunity to maximize coverage from their permanent facilities, meaning that in the long run viewers will be better off than they were prior to the repack.  

“In all cases, we tried to maximize our clients’ coverage area because their pre-transition facility may have been boxed in on an existing frequency,” says Ryan Wilhour, consulting engineer at Kessler and Gehman Engineering Associates.

“But the whole world got shook up. Everything got shuffled, so there were new opportunities. I would say that is a gain in the market for everybody, especially in rural areas.”

Longer-term, the most important effect of the repack may be how it positions stations to launch ATSC 3.0 service at some point in the future. While qualifying repack expense reimbursement requests were limited to like technology, many stations chose to pay up-charges to add capabilities, such as vertical or elliptical polarization to their new antennas, that better position them for NextGen TV service. Many also replaced tube transmitters with modern solid state models with software upgradeable exciters that can easily be converted to 3.0.

Gray Television is among the broadcasters that used the repack as an opportunity to get ready for 3.0, says Robert Folliard III, senior vice president, Government Relations & Distribution at the station group. “Absolutely [the repack was a chance to prepare for 3.0]. That was part of the strategy,” he says. 

“As soon as we were given our repack assignments and told which stations had to do what and when, the very next question was how can we make this better? How do we future-proof this? What else can we do with this?” he says.

While the scope and demanding schedule of the repack caused many in the broadcast industry to be skeptical of the undertaking, overall the effort has been a success, says Jenkins.

“My hat’s off and thanks to the FCC Media Bureau because I think this really could have been a disaster had they not had some ability to be flexible, extend certain deadlines [and] move stations from one phase to another,” says Jenkins. “I think the flexibility, the liberal use of granting STAs, all of those tools I think made this happen.” 

WASHINGTON—The post-incentive auction repack is entering the home stretch, according to testimony given by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in front of a Senate oversight committee on Thursday, Oct. 17. And thus far the repack has been going well, per Pai.

The Senate Financial Services Subcommittee conducted the hearing to get an overview of the FCC’s entire spectrum auction program. Pai spoke on how previous and upcoming spectrum auctions are helping the U.S. stay at the forefront of wireless technologies, like 5G, as well as generating revenue.

Pai was specifically asked to give an update on the post-incentive auction repack by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.). Pai informed the committee that the fifth phase of the repack was completed in September—after extensions were given by stations impacted by Hurricane Dorian—at which point 533 of the 987 stations required to move to channel had successfully done so.

Phase six ends today, Oct. 18, with Pai saying he expected an additional 100 stations to have completed their moves. If those numbers prove accurate, the repack will be more than two-thirds complete.

“The process for compensating stations for their relocation costs as a result of the post-incentive auction spectrum repack,” Pai said. “And wireless carriers are already using much of the 600 MHz spectrum that they won at the auction to provide service across the country. Looking forward, we’ll keep our eye on the ball and make sure that this repack is brought to a successful conclusion.”

For more information on the repack, visit TV Technology's repack silo.

RAYMOND, MAINE–DTVPros and GTI America recently partnered to relocate a Tulsa, Ok.-based TV station’s transmission facilities to comply with the current spectrum repack.

KWHB, a Family Broadcasting Corporation station serving Tulsa and Northeast Oklahoma, relocated to the tallest building in the CityPlex Towers office complex upon being repacked from UHF Channel 47 to Channel 16. This 60-foot skyscraper is also the longtime home of Oral Roberts University-owned KGEB-DT, an independent broadcaster repacked from UHF Channel 49 to VHF Channel 12.

Both stations hired DTVPros, a full-service buyer’s agent that specializes in RF system planning and selection processes for local TV stations, to manage the unique relocation project. The complex project required helicopter lifts to remove existing KGEB antennas, and install new Dielectric repack antennas for each broadcaster’s new channel assignment. New antenna mounts were also required to comply with modern building codes.

Working closely with GTI America, the broadcast services company in charge of installation, DTVPros coordinated services and equipment to meet each station’s repack deadline. KGEB, a Phase 0 repack station, cut over to its new VHF Channel 12 assignment on Sept. 4 while KWHB, a Phase 2 repack station, will begin broadcasting on UHF Channel 16 in April 2019. DTVPros also worked closely with Hodge Structural Engineers of Evansville, Indiana, to produce the new specially designed mounts.

“This was a very unusual project as the installation was to take place on a building in a congested metropolitan area as opposed to a remote broadcast tower,” said Jim Heard, owner of DTVPros. “Additionally, the existing mounts were no longer in code, and we were under a tight timeline to find a helicopter service for antenna removal and installation. These were all obstacles that made overall program management among the most challenging of my career, but the professionalism of my partners shined through.”

Dielectric supplied elliptically designed antennas for both stations for enhanced coverage and performance in ATSC 1.0, and in preparation for ATSC 3.0. Once live on Channel 16, KWHB will use a TFU GTH Series UHF broadband slot antenna, which offers an electrically center-fed design for superior frequency response across one or more channels. KGEB is broadcasting from its new VHF assignment with a THV Series high-band directional antenna. The complete systems for each station also included Dielectric tunable waveguide filters and HELIAX flexible transmission line from CommScope.

For all the latest news and insight on the repack, visit our repack silo.

WASHINGTON — John Hane, president of Spectrum Co., isn’t quite sure whether it’s a bad dream or he’s a bit paranoid, but he’s seen this all before. Hane senses TV spectrum is at risk from another round of givebacks, and that ultimately there will be nothing left but VHF.

“Does it seem to anyone else that every 10 years or so we lose a really big chunk of spectrum?” he asked May 24 at the Advanced Television Systems Committee annual meeting at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington.

“PROGRESSIVE RECLAMATION”

During his 20-minute talk, Hane recalled the “progressive reclamation” of TV spectrum broadcasters have suffered at the hands of lawmakers and regulators. “In 1983, the FCC reallocated channels 70 to 83, the 800 MHz band, for land mobile. That spectrum was given away to large companies. Given away,” he emphasized.

In the late 1990s, the agency developed a plan to reallocate channels 52 through 69 — the 700MHz band — for cellular service, and once the analog-to-DTV conversion was complete, broadcasters lost those channels.

“And just now, we are in the process of clearing out another 84MHz, but we’ve really lost more than that because the repacking algorithm — TV Study — really bunched us closer together so we have less breathing room,” said Hane.

While no auctions are planned at the moment, Hane reminded his audience that few saw the incentive auctions coming. Further, even without a new giveback, deep-pocketed, politically connected companies like Microsoft are trying to nail down broadcasters to their UHF assignments to make way for unlicensed white space devices.

“We need to put an end to the cycle of losing spectrum,” he said, as the crowd broke into applause. “Because ultimately without spectrum we don’t really have much of a business.”

ATTRACT NEW STAKEHOLDERS

The ATSC 3.0 standard is how broadcasters break the cycle of spectrum surrenders because it enables TV broadcasters to use their spectrum more intensely, he said. However, it’s a mistake to think of intense TV spectrum usage simply as a matter of attracting more over-the-air viewers, which Hane is convinced will happen due to Next-Gen TV’s reliable OTA reception, 4K UHD images and immersive sound.

“With 3.0, we increase the stakeholders in OTA broadcasting by reaching more people directly and by building new businesses,” said Hane. “We have to provide a range of services to a range of different stakeholders, and bring more stakeholders into the ecosystem to protect it.”

Some of those new services include data delivery to help power the Internet of Things and new automotive applications. Broadcasters will be deploying 3.0 to a market that is growing from a few hundred million handheld devices to a few hundred billion IoT and automotive devices, he said.

[Read: DISH Teams Up With Spectrum Co. on Next Gen TV Trial in Dallas]

“We are just at the beginning of the wireless revolution … It is a big market,” he said. However, that’s not to say that broadcasters will become “full-up competitors” with AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. “Our platform will be unique in its capabilities as how it is brought to the market,” he said.

The signal strength single-frequency networks can deliver throughout a market is a key part of reliable data delivery to support these new applications. Hane did not call for an immediate nationwide deployment, but said that SFNs have “to be on our planning horizon for our data customers, for our core service, for a market mobility” and to demonstrate broadcasters’ desire to use their spectrum “in an intense way and make money on it and bring other stakeholders in …”

Indeed, one of Spectrum Co.’s core missions is aggregating a critical mass of ATSC 3.0 bit capacity to support these types of new services, he said. “Because the market for communications services is national, we have to work together to compete in non-broadcast services.”

To the extent this business case develops, broadcasters will want to deploy SFNs, up their signal levels and push out their coverage areas, he said. “We have to work together because no broadcaster’s business is big enough to do that by itself.”

If successful in creating new services, including mobile, the revenues generated “can easily justify the cost of supplementing” big stick OTA delivery with SFNs over time — “not first out of the box,” he said.

But don’t wait too long, he cautioned, because wireless competitors covetous of broadcast spectrum and companies like Microsoft that wish to deploy services in white spaces are not going to wait for broadcasters. “They are going to try to take it away and pin us in while we are not doing it [deploying ATSC 3.0], and that is one of the main reasons why we need to move quickly,” said Hane.

“By upgrading our technology, working together to build new businesses [and] bringing in new stakeholders, we stay relevant and make more money,” he said.

O’RIELLY: “TIME IS NOT A LUXURY”

Hane was not the only speaker at the annual ATSC meeting to urge broadcasters to hasten their Next Gen TV deployment. FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly, a surprise speaker at the event, also encouraged broadcasters to move forward in an expeditious manner with their 3.0 rollouts.

O’Rielly, who visited Phoenix to see the “consumer-centric” 3.0 model market project being led by Pearl the week before the ATSC meeting, said time is not a luxury for broadcasters when it comes to Next Gen TV deployment.

“Television broadcasters are under enormous pressure right now, right here,” said O’Rielly. “The high-tech companies who broadcasters compete with daily for advertising and consumer attention are not going to stop and wait for ATSC 3.0 to be fully deployed.”

To make his point, O’Rielly recalled the story of a local car dealer who today on average gets 84 solicitations to advertise per month — the majority of which are from new digital outlets — where a few years ago he received only a handful from local stations. “If you are a broadcaster sitting on a fence [about] whether or not to deploy ATSC 3.0, you should be worried that the fence no longer exists if you take too long to decide.”

O’Rielly was introduced by former FCC Chairman Richard Wiley. Wiley was on hand to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the formation of the Grand Alliance, which included AT&T, General Instruments, MIT, Philips, Thomson, Zenith and the David Sarnoff Research Center and was responsible for development of the world’s first digital HDTV broadcast system.

“It was an intrepid assemblage of video pioneers who brought to the nation the wonders of widescreen, high definition television that’s been enjoyed by millions and millions of our fellow citizens over the past 25 years — at least,” said Wiley, who served as chairman of the advisory committee tasked by the FCC at the time with finding a path to advanced television.

“As revolutionary as the Grand Alliance and ATSC 1.0 was and still is, we stand today on a threshold of an even greater digital era.” Wiley said. “Of course, that is Next Gen digital television. So, today, we can celebrate and honor the past and present and look forward with great anticipation to what lies ahead.”

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.

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CINCINNATI—As Qunicy Media prepares for the spectrum repack, the company has announced a deal with GatesAir that will have the company provide transmitters, installation and commissioning services across Quincy’s TV station group. GatesAir’s ULXTE liquid-cooled UHF and VAXTE air-cooled VHF transmitters will be included as part of the deal; some existing GatesAir transmitters at select stations will be modified to meet new channel assignments.

ULXTE

Quincy uses GatesAir transmitters today across all of its stations. The new transmitters will help to simplify channel relocation and is expected to reduce utility costs and maintenance compared with Qunicy’s previously older RF technology.

GatesAir is also providing assistance in determining if existing transmitters can be channel-changed. Part of this process will include bringing in temporary backup transmitters to Quincy sites.

Brady Dreasler, corporate director of engineering for Quincy Media, believes that GatesAir’s XTE exciter present in the installed transmitters will help with Quincy’s eventual transition to ATSC 3.0.

CINCINNATI—Chicago’s WTTW-TV, its primary PBS member station, will be on the move to a new channel as part of the FCC’s spectrum repack and the station has decided to go with GatesAir to help with the transition. For the move GatesAir is suppling WTTW with its Maxiva ULXTE liquid-cooled UHF TV transmitter.

Willis Tower

As part of the “Phase 6” reassignment in the Midwest/Chicago region, WTTW has until Oct. 18, 2019 to complete its relocation to UHF channel 25. GatesAir has provided a range of technical services to help facilitate the transition, including a transmitter site evaluation and a full transition plan.

The ULXTE transmitter will replace the station’s previous GatesAir Sigma transmitter. ULXTE utilizes 50-volt LDMOS amplifiers to reduce size, weight and energy consumption while increasing power density. The transmitter integrates GatesAir’s ATSC 3.0-ready XTE exciter, which is designed to increase processing power and incorporates its patented RTAC technology.

Working with GatesAir will also help WTTW with the transition from ATSC 1.0 to ATSC 3.0, including the GatesAir ATSC 3.0 Guarantee program, which provides product support and technical services across installation, commissioning and ongoing operation of ATSC 3.0 systems.

The ULTXE installation is contingent upon the design of the new antenna that will be installed as part of a multi-station antenna farm atop the Willis Tower.

WASHINGTON—Now the maneuvering begins, along a complicated route that runs through Washington, Wall Street and countless transmitter sites around the country as TV executives deal with the repercussions of the broadcast spectrum incentive auction. First comes the actual payout of $10 billion to broadcasters who sold 84 MHz of spectrum plus divvying up the $1.75 billion dollar fund to hundreds of stations that will actually move into repacked channel assignments.

Simultaneously, there is expected to be a significant ownership shuffle (including the “zombie channel” sidesteps), extensive fretting about the impact on FM radio stations plus an aggressive effort to convince Capitol Hill that the 39-month channel repacking timetable towards a summer 2020 deadline is not viable.

And then there’s ATSC 3.0. Although repack funds cannot be used to upgrade facilities for future services, many broadcasters want to include their 3.0 investments as they install new equipment—especially since 3.0 rules seem to be on a fast track. At the same time, wireless carriers are escalating their pressure to speed the process so they can get access to the $19.6 billion of airwaves in the 600 MHz spectrum band they just bought. (The remaining $7 billion of auction payments will go to the federal treasury for deficit reduction, an intent of the 2012 Spectrum Act legislation.) The wireless companies are also driven by technology: fifth generation (5G) systems are scheduled to come to market in 2020 (although they will more likely be used in higher bands at 3.5 GHz and above 15 GHz).

For its part, the Federal Communications Commission is expected to issue its rules and assignments (officially the “Closing and Channel Reassignment Public Notice”) for the post-auction process on April 14, predictably just before the NAB Show. Then comes a 90-day comment period. Hence much maneuvering will take place in the coming months (including at the Las Vegas convention) as details about the actual station moves take shape. Adding to the current angst is a late-March FCC decision about broadcast channel-sharing in the repack, which has raised questions about cable must-carry of stations and the role of low-power TV channels in such arrangements.

TEN-PHASE TRANSITION
The transition is scheduled to roll out in a series of 10 phases, taking into account how lighting up new channels affects nearby broadcasters. Channels in phase one may only have 18 months to move to the new assignments.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai “Delivering on the promise of this auction will require a smooth and orderly post-auction transition,” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said when the bidding ceased. “That means we must ensure uninterrupted access to over-the-air television and a timely clearing of the new wireless band. We will devote a great deal of attention to those tasks over the coming months, and it will be a top priority of mine as chairman of this agency.”

The battle over the 39-month timetable got a boost late last month when the National Association of Broadcasters filed a 21-page “Petition for Reconsideration,” asking the FCC to review its “flawed” framework and timeline for the repack. NAB charged that the FCC’s decisions have made “its job, and the job of the industry, considerably harder.” Specifically, the association claims that the commission “will repack far more stations than necessary and far more than can... be fully reimbursed.” NAB says the process will mean that the repack takes longer and will cause more viewer disruption.

“Under the current schedule... the commission has a very narrow window of opportunity to make corrections to the flawed transition plan the staff has developed,” NAB said. NAB has also contended that stations will need at last $2.75 billion for all repacking activities—more than $1 billion above the current allotment.

There are sympathetic ears to that argument on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. “Since broadcasters can be the first line of defense during an emergency, it’s critical that viewers not lose their signals,” Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.) told TV Technology. Pallone, the ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced a discussion draft of “The Viewer Protection Act” last year. “Since then, I’ve received a lot of positive feedback, and with the final results of the incentive auction... it’s time for Congress to get to work on this bill.”

The proposed law would “establish an additional fund in the Treasury to reimburse broadcast television stations for costs associated with channel relocation” during the repack. It would also fund a viewer education effort to inform consumers about how to assure they receive broadcast signals after the repack and to give viewers “access to faster mobile broadband” as quickly as possible after the repack. Pallone’s goal is to “ensure that no station is forced to stop broadcasting.” Although the current draft supports the 39-month deadline, it allows wiggle room “if the broadcasters need a little more time,” according to the Committee staff.

VENDORS ARE READY
David Arland, executive director of the Indiana Broadcasters Association, voiced concern that there “is no vehicle to reimburse an FM station” for costs it may incur because of the TV repacking. In particular, Arland pointed to FM stations that lease space on TV towers and may be affected by tower changes.

He also expressed concern about the availability of tower personnel.

“If you call a tower company today, it may be six months before they show up,” Arland said. “The 39-month window may not be long enough.”

Based on his personal experience (in another capacity) during the DTV transition a decade ago, Arland warned, “It never goes as planned.”

Separately, a study funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting found that at least 191 CPB-eligible radio stations are colocated with a TV station that may face repacking.

Despite such concerns about the availability of equipment and construction personnel to handle the repack, some vendors acknowledge that “we’ve already started” preparations.

“We’ve added more than 54,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space plus staff,” since last year’s NAB convention, according to Bill Harland, vice president of marketing for Electronics Research Inc. (ERI), one of the country’s largest tower/antenna suppliers. The Chandler, Ind.-based company now has the capacity to make 16 high-power TV antennas per month, he told TV Technology, adding that the company expects to begin deliveries by autumn.

“We’ve started preparatory work based on information that customers received in confidential letters” from the FCC, Harland said. He conceded that ERI cannot yet pursue interference studies without information about other local broadcasters, but “realistically... there are many things customers can do to get ready.” He cited “structural analysis, power information, foundation evaluation” and other site-specific preparations.

“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but we’ve done all we can to” meet TV stations’ needs, Harland said.

The FCC began sending confidential notifications to stations last month about their new channel assignments, so that they can begin planning. The full assignment list will be disclosed in the FCC’s mid-April Notice. At an FCC workshop in mid-March, Jean Kiddoo, deputy chair of the FCC’s Auction Task Force, suggested that stations can start broadcasting early on their post-repacking channels, but that the commission will assess the impact of such actions “on the whole transition.”

Mark Aitken, vice president of advanced technology for Sinclair Broadcast GroupSINCLAIR: PLANNING UNDERWAY
At Sinclair Broadcast Group, where 93 stations will be converted or repacked, the FCC has denoted nine stations for the first phase, according to Mark Aitken, the company’s vice president of advanced technology. He told TV Technology that Sinclair is already getting documentation and details for those nine antennas now. He expects the 10-phase process “will take a lot of coordination.”

“Space is a concern. Site surveys must be done,” Aiken said. He pointed to plumbing, HVAC, electrical distribution, insurance indemnification and other factors that must be evaluated. “That list goes wide and deep.” Moreover, some of the oldest transmitters no longer have technical support, he said, adding to the complexity of making replacement decisions. Moreover, many sites are shared with other broadcasters, further complicating the process, Aitken added. He also pointed out factors such as determining whether a tower meets or must be upgraded to G wind-load standards.

“We’re taking an aggressive position to build out early when we can distribute resources,” he said. “Some sites may be soft channel changes. We’ll build a new transmitter and operate on today’s channel then later we may gracefully rechannelize it to the new channel rather than doing a hot switches at the end.”

STATION SALES BEGIN
The auction aftermath coincides with many market and regulatory conditions that will inevitably intermesh with unknown results. For example, ownership caps—currently under reconsideration—may affect some deal-making. In particular, changes to the “UHF discount,” which deliberately under-weights high-band channels, could have an impact on groups being able to buy more stations, said Howard Liberman, a communications attorney at Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP. He also pointed out that the repack expense will hit especially hard at stations in smaller markets, and that there will be additional challenges for LPTV stations and translators, which will not be reimbursed from the auction fund.

His WBK partner David Oxenford, who works directly with many local broadcasters, noted that the expected spurt in transactions may “have nothing to do with the auction” but expects many deals will “be driven by auction results.”

“Until you know the repacking details, it’s difficult to plan coherently” for post-auction actions, Oxenford told TV Technology. He also cited the problems for FM stations, especially if their antennas are located aboard TV towers, which may affect transmission while installers are at work and also which could change the wind-loading on the tower.

Among the near-term uncertainties is the fate of so-called “zombie channels”—broadcasters who sold spectrum but still have their broadcast licenses. Some are seeking to sell remaining assets while others may buy available stations or make channel-sharing arrangements in their communities.

Channel-sharing options, endorsed by the FCC’s latest Report and Order, allow stations with an auction-related channel-sharing agreement (CSA) to extend such relationships after the transition. The new rule also lets LPTV and translators share a channel with a full-power or Class A station.

Ari Meltzer, an attorney at the Wiley Rein law firm, focused on “the public interest benefits of applying a flexible approach to post-auction channel-sharing.”

“It would be illogical and inconsistent with this principle to say that a station can hold a license with no spectrum rights, but cannot transfer it,” Meltzer said in a published report. This approach “allows the commission to repurpose spectrum while still preserving diversity and competition on the airwaves.”

Meltzer also noted that there is no precedent for channel-sharing prices, and he pointed out that after the repacking rules are finalized—possibly by July—stations will have as little as 120 days to file their post-auction channel sharing details at the FCC.

Pat LaPlatney, president and CEO of Raycom MediaPREPARING FOR ATSC 3.0
At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the “Value of Spectrum” last month, Raycom Media President and CEO Pat LaPlatney, testifying on behalf of NAB, emphasized the connection between the auction and the looming “NextGen TV” plans as enunciated in the FCC’s current ATSC 3.0 deliberation.

“As the auction winds its way to completion, one thing is certain: The broadcast industry will end up with less spectrum,” LaPlatney said. He emphasized that ATSC 3.0 will not only deliver better video, but it will also enable broadcasters to deliver “more and better emergency services... [and] mobile access” and integrated broadcast/broadband content. His message was that the auction aftermath is closely connected to the introduction of Next-Gen TV services.

Sinclair’s Aitken offered a similar connection between the two developments.

“When you’re doing your engineering [for the repack], you have to have an eye toward Next-Gen TV,” he said. “For example, in the mobile portable environment, having a vertical component in the antenna’s radiation characteristics is important. Many antennas have circular or elliptical polarization.” He added that the extra cost that broadcasters would incur (beyond the FCC repack allotment) to add vertical polarization is less than a 15 percent increment and is worth it for future services.

“There must be a clear delineation of what’s authorized [for repack] vs. what I spend to prepare for 3.0,” Aitken said. He believes many broadcasters will also do such upgrades as they repack. “It would be short-sighted—maybe even irresponsible—if you’re going to implement 3.0” not to upgrade at the same time.

Dennis Wharton, NAB’s executive vice president of communications, also acknowledged the FCC’s intent to allow broadcasters to deploy ATSC 3.0 on a voluntary basis.

“If we do get approval by the end of the year, we expect that repacking and initial Next-Gen deployments can overlap, which is great for consumers because they are less likely to need to rescan their television sets multiple times to continue receiving over-the-air TV,” Wharton told TV Technology.

Wharton also characterized the FCC’s post-auction agenda as “a most significant challenge” because “no one has ever attempted this.”

“The number of repacked television stations, the complex interference relationships between those stations, resource constraints and implications for non-repacked broadcasters, including FM radio, will make this the most complex transition the FCC has ever overseen,” he said. “While the specific challenges faced by each broadcaster and in each market will be unique, we expect that repacking will be a nationwide challenge.”

COLUMBIA, MD.—Broadcast stations that need to prepare for the upcoming spectrum repack now have a study guide courtesy of Rohde & Schwarz, as the company has created the “Go 2 Repack” guide and has made it available for download.

“Go 2 Repack” is a 15-page guide authored by R&S staffers, antenna manufacturers, RF consultants and other industry leaders for broadcasters and technical personnel involved in transitioning to a new channel as part of the spectrum repack. The guide features information about the repacking process, ATSC 3.0 and details about the latest antenna and transmitter technology. Other topics of interest covered in the guide include permits and logistical considerations; installation preparation; repack impact on LPTV and translators; plans to replace RF systems; and antennae selection.

R&S has released the “Go 2 Repack” guide in conjunction with its series of Repacking Advanced Technology Events, which will take place in Columbia, Md., Dallas and Burbank, Calif., on March 6, March 8 and March 9, respectively.

To download “Go 2 Repack,” visit www.rohde-schwarz.com/tx9.

CADILLAC, MICH.—At this time last year, the spectrum auction was on the horizon—and so was a great deal of uncertainty for LPTV stations. An official clearing target for the auction had not yet been set. There was talk of an 84 MHz clearing target with TV channels 38 and above being auctioned to the highest wireless industry bidders. By the time the final auction plan was announced, the clearing target for Stage 1 of the reverse auction had increased to 126 MHz—a target that would have cleared TV off every RF channel above 29.

Morris Langworthy directs a newscast between work on upgrades to WMNN’s control room.

If an 84 MHz clearing target didn’t make LPTV operators nervous, the new 126 MHz target certainly did. Unlike full-power and Class A stations, LPTV stations were offered no protection in the auction. As full-power or Class A stations are repacked post-auction, they’ll have priority for the remaining channels.

If the auction had concluded with 126 MHz of the TV spectrum cleared to make room for cellular services that would have left relatively little room for primary services, especially in medium to large markets, let alone much space at all for LPTVs.

A SURPRISING SERIES OF EVENTS

As the auction began last June, things started to look brighter for the LPTV industry, and perhaps the television industry as a whole. During the first stage of the spectrum auction—the stage with a 126 MHz clearing target—broadcasters asked for a whopping $86 billion to clear their spectrum while wireless providers were only willing to spend $23 billion for that spectrum.

During Stage 2, broadcasters lowered their price to under $55 billion, as the amount of spectrum up for auction shrunk to 114 MHz. The bids of wireless providers didn’t change much, shrinking to $21.5 billion for the reduced amount of spectrum.

By Stage 3, the amount of spectrum up for auction was down to 108 MHz, with broadcasters’ price to sell out reduced to just over $40 billion, while wireless bidders offered just shy of $20 billion for the spectrum.

The spectrum auction concluded after Stage 4. It ended, incidentally, with the originally discussed 84 MHz of TV spectrum cleared to make room for wireless providers.

A CHANGE OF PLAN

Early last year, at a time when the spectrum auction was on the horizon, I put plans to expand WMNN—our 24/7 local news channel in northern Michigan, which happens to be an LPTV station—on hold. I also froze plans to build several additional stations for which we currently hold construction permits. The risk was too high; if 126 MHz was cleared and we were left without any channels available for our LPTV licenses, we could end up with hundreds of thousands of dollars in useless equipment and no way to gain a return on investment.

WMNN Chief Photojournalist Wyatt VanDuinen and Reporter Vic McCarty film an interview.

After each stage of the auction, I found that many LPTV operators I spoke with, like myself, were becoming more optimistic about the future of our industry. By the time Stage 3 of the forward auction concluded, I felt confident enough in the future of our industry to begin moving forward with our plans for expansion.

Near the end of last year we secured tower space for one of our new LPTV stations. We began acquiring equipment to put the new station on-air, acquiring programming and preparing for the launch of the new station. Right now, we’re simply waiting for winter weather to clear as access to this particular tower site is difficult at this time of year, especially for a task like new antenna installation.

As the year drew to a close, we also began moving forward with our plans to expand WMNN. Last month, we doubled down on our commitment to producing live, local programing throughout our large geographic DMA with the acquisition of a satellite truck. We’re currently in the process of outfitting an additional microwave truck for live, HD field production, allowing us to cover sports games from two different schools in the viewing area every night. We’re upgrading our studio’s production control room, allowing us to produce more in-studio programming every day, not just for WMNN, but for the other LPTV stations we’re working to launch as well.

We’re optimistic enough about the future of TV post-auction that we’re even evaluating the launch of a diginet, which would build on the model we’ve established at WMNN, offering 24/7 news on a national level not just to LPTV affiliates, but to full-power stations as well.

A CHANGE OF THE GUARD

While I’m still concerned for the future of LPTV in major metropolitan areas where spectrum is scarce, I feel much more comfortable about the immediate future of our industry in smaller markets—the sort of markets we currently operate in, where there are fewer stations competing for the bandwidth that will remain available to TV once the auction is complete.

Chief Meteorologist Morris Langworthy, Anchor/Producer Jacob Owens, Forecaster Dylan Rodenbaugh and intern Rain Johnson-Hill broadcast live severe weather coverage from the WMNN studio.

The lack of demand from wireless providers for more than 84 MHz of TV spectrum was reassuring, but perhaps even more reassuring is the changing of the guard at the FCC.

Tom Wheeler left his position as FCC chairman in January. His replacement, Ajit Pai, has personally told LPTV operators that he believes low-power stations are a valuable resource; a resource with room to grow.

As the repack approaches, it’s clear that we’re not out of the woods just yet, but with a new chairman taking the reins at the FCC, limited demand for TV spectrum from wireless providers during the spectrum auction, and the auction nearing its completion, the future of LPTV looks, perhaps, the brightest it has in several years; especially for stations willing to take a few risks.

Eric Wotila is the general manager, MI News 26, an LPTV station based in Cadillac, Mich. He can be reached at ewotila@minews26.com.