As the channel repack enters its final segment—Phase 10—broadcasters are facing some unexpected headwinds in the form of the coronavirus pandemic. In March, the FCC announced that it would give those broadcasters who had not met the May 1 deadline to complete their repack in Phase 9, the opportunity to extend their project into Phase 10—the final phase—which began May 2 and is scheduled to end July 3.

As one of the most complex and time-sensitive projects ever undertaken by U.S. broadcasters, nearly 1,000 TV stations are involved in moving their channels to make way for the 600 MHz spectrum that was auctioned off several years ago, to be taken over by the wireless carriers who obtained the winning bids. But it’s not only TV stations that have been affected, it’s also impacting other tenants on the towers, including FM radio stations. 

TV Technology recently sat down with Anthony Flores, owner of AFF Consulting, who has spent the large part of the last several years working with broadcasters on repack projects. Here is an edited transcript:

TV Technology: Welcome Tony, can you give us some background about yourself?

Anthony Flores: I’ve been an independent contractor since 2007, prior to that I worked for Richland Towers. I was also with AT&T as a director of site development. I’ve been in the business since 1987 doing either cellular wireless and since 1997 on, mostly broadcast. 

I understand the whole process of going from concept design to on the air, it’s helped me fill niches wherever they are. I’ve also worked for tower companies as well as some TV and radio broadcasters.

TVT: How were things going with your work on the repack prior to March?

AF: Pretty busy. As the repack started to ramp up a few years ago, it was obvious to a lot of broadcasters that they didn’t have the internal resources needed for various necessary tasks. For some groups it was engineering and administrative tasks such as RF and structural engineering, planning and design, and entitlement/ permits  to get their projects out of the chute. Some broadcasters needed construction management assistance. They wanted people to manage the field effort to get things done, to get the tower modifications, antennas and transmitters changed out. I’ve pretty much assisted with all of the above. 

A lot of groups have been very organized and were looking down the road a lot further so they were working towards all of these tasks much earlier in the process. Some  planned to install and use a broadband standby system capable of both their existing and new channel. They worked to have these in place prior to their Phased transition date. Then, they would replace their main antennas at a time that worked for that station. Some elected to go on their standby systems to maintain their current channels while they put all their new channels top-mounted or main systems in place and then cut over to those after the transition dates. They would then go back after the transition and replace their standby antennas.

There were the other groups that were a little less organized or maybe didn’t have all the funding they needed. Those groups struggled to do the best they could. Some made their transition just in time and some did not. 

The push here at the end has been somewhat of a challenge just because of the nature of the repack: Not having enough resources across the board, be it transmitters, antennas, installers, tower contractors, structural engineers, etc. Those who felt it could be done as quickly as they originally thought may not have understood all of the complexities or didn't quite understand the scope of what it took to fulfill the requests. 

So, given that there were already a lot of challenges, go ahead and throw in this pandemic at the last minute and that didn't help. 

PLUS: LPTVS to Receive 85% of Repack Reimbursement ASAP, Says FCC

TVT: How much of the problem would you attribute to lack of planning as opposed to not being aware that something like this pandemic could have an impact?

AF: How can you be ready for a global pandemic? You already have a lot of headwind and you're already going uphill. Now throw on this 500 pound weight and that's all it took to make a difficult situation worse. 

For example, you’re working on a building permit, things are pretty much moving along to your planned schedule. Then the pandemic hits. Due to some state or county shelter-in-place orders, some jurisdictions cut their office hours or their staff was sent to work from home. Now your planned schedule doubles or triples. What may have taken four to six weeks now can take eight to 12 weeks or longer. 

That’s just on the regulatory side. On the field resource side, some vendors and contractors were concerned about employee safety. Whether on the manufacturing floor or in the field, evaluations had to be made to determine whether to keep working or suspend operations until they could understand how the virus might impact them. 

That’s on the repack side of things. Then there's the rest of the broadcast business already working and operating. The broadcasters that have nothing to do with repack rely on many of those same resources to help them every day, whether it’s normal maintenance, or an emergency. Some of these broadcast resources have long-term relationships with these broadcasters and they're doing their best to squeeze them into the already difficult workload. 

All of the above doesn’t even consider the weather. During the 2018-2019 winter, we had problems—we had either incredible rain or wind events that stopped construction completely or increased the work schedule by weeks. That, of course, had a domino effect on other project schedules into spring and summer. 

All of those realistic real world things happen, repack or not—they happen with any major undertaking. To expect to be able to move almost 1,000 TV stations in 36 months was more optimistic than realistic. So whether it was phase 9, 8, 6 or 3, it started off with a challenge and never really got better. 

Regardless, coming into phase 9, with some Herculean efforts, the dedicated vendors and contractors made it happen. I think most of the stations—at least the ones I was involved with—were successful. 

TVT: Do you agree with the FCC's assessment that the repack is on schedule?

AF: That's a subjective question—”On schedule according to what?” On schedule that someone gave up that channel when they were supposed to? Perhaps that's correct. That they're hobbling by on some less than optimum antenna and have lost significant coverage in their market? I think that you’ll find a number of those cases. 

And now, broadcasters that are trying to complete phase 10 or complete their transition by installing a new antenna or transmitter are finding that the resource pool has been encumbered by a pandemic. They have to ask themselves: Is it safe to go into New York or Baltimore? That becomes part of a tower contractors’ job: safety analysis, just like climbing a tower, is it safe to climb? Now, we have to ask whether it is safe for me to put six guys into a market where they might be exposed.

Some care and some, not as much. Regardless, I’m sure no one wants to get sick or bring something home to a family member or significant other, 

TVT: Which has been the bigger problem during this pandemic, is it the logistics or have there been shortages of tower crews? 

AF: It's a little of both. There was always a shortage of resources, that was a given from the start. 

We made our way into phase 9 without a pandemic or at least that burden, but we were already scrambling to get things to happen. While the pandemic may not have stopped things, it certainly slowed things down even more because people were becoming a little more tentative—“how do I get my crews there, are there any hotels open, what's the protocol?” 

And now I have to set up another level of training for my people to make sure they stay healthy and what are all the ramifications if somebody gets sick, So there was kind of a “pumping of the brakes” if you will, with all the vendors and contractors.

TVT: Are you finding out that even for those people who are planning ahead, the fact that there's no personnel at city hall anymore and that people are scattered is a problem? It can’t all be done online right?

My office is in Northern California and I always try to do as much as I can online but there are jurisdictions that just aren’t as sophisticated or set up to do that and they require somebody in person. I'm on a plane going to that market or I have a local associate that I can work with to be my arms and legs in that market. 

And it still requires me to physically see somebody else, and yes, when all of the shelter-in-place orders started to occur in different places, some jurisdictions were very quick to say, “we need some time to figure this out and see if we can switch to a more remote process.” 

TVT: Do you think the deadline will be extended beyond July?

AF: I don't think so. I know, on the other side, the new spectrum licensees, obviously, are very anxious to get that 600 MHz deployed. And I get that, I understand because especially now, the cellular networks are being taxed in a way that they weren't before. 

The auction was a big big deal for some of these guys and they had already started to deploy the 600 MHz. They can't just turn it on, they have to wait for this guy to turn it off before they can turn it on. 

Some have been very supportive, willing to help and offer more resources to assist. They want to have that spectrum as soon as possible and now especially because with the pandemic. Network use profiles have changed. Network demand has shifted from the cities and office parks to more residential areas where they have less network capabilities. 

When you take an undertaking like this, no one has a crystal ball, but looking back, there may have been more optimism than the resource pool could support. I don't know where those assumptions came from, but that’s not unusual, I run into that all the time. 

I think all in all, everyone’s done a remarkable job and the guys still left to cross the finish line will be close, even with Covid. There may be some delays because of Covid and perhaps, for maybe the next year or so, some projects to get things optimized. 

WASHINGTON—The TV repack that is currently underway with stations relocating on the TV spectrum is being given some slack by the FCC in the event interruptions occur due to the current coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Heading into Phase 9, the FCC has provided details on how and when such adjustments can be made.

Phase 8 of the repack saw its deadline pass on March 13. The FCC said that stations assigned to Phase 8 did meet their deadline, and that any extensions needed because of delivery delay were granted. However, the FCC says it has become aware of a two-week delay of field service being imposed for one tower company because of COVID-19.

As Phase 9 officially got underway on March 14, and because the FCC does anticipate that additional suspensions may occur that can impact the transition, stations assigned to Phase 9 that believe it may not be able to meet the May 1 deadline to complete their transition will be granted a waiver and reassigned to Phase 10. Phase 10 begins on May 2 and has a deadline of July 3.

A request for a waiver should be based on the station’s need to delay specifically because of circumstances related to COVID-19. It needs to be filed as a legal request for special temporary authority in the Licensing Management System, with a copy sent via email to Evan.Morris@fcc.gov and kevin.harding@fcc.gov. 

Stations that are able to complete their transition within the Phase 9 timeframe are permitted to do so, so long as they do not have direct downstream linkages to stations moving from Phase 9 to Phase 10.

No other testing period start dates or phase completion dates are being adjusted at this time, per the FCC.

The full statement from the FCC is available online.

NAB’s Executive Vice President of Communication Dennis Wharton supported the FCC’s decision in an official statement.

“NAB strongly supports the FCC’s additional flexibility with respect to Phase 9 of the TV repack given the uncertainty over tower equipment delivery delays related to the worldwide coronavirus crisis,” said Wharton. “In this time of uncertainty, it’s vital that local TV viewers maintain access to credible broadcast news sources. We look forward to the speedy end to the viral pandemic, and a resumption of work by tower crews to successfully complete the repack and ensure access to our tens of millions of viewers.”

WASHINGTON—The repack is approaching the home stretch, according to the latest update provided by the FCC that details that 697 of 987 repacked stations have moved from their pre-auction channel (71%).

Those numbers, included in a FCC report from Dec. 9, were accurate as of Dec. 6.

In addition to the nearly 700 hundred stations that have made their move to their new channel, the FCC says it anticipates about another 80 stations in Phase 7 will make their transition be the phase completion date of Jan. 17, 2020. There are 10 total phases scheduled to complete the repack, with the current date for completion of Phase 10 set for July 3, 2020.

“We are optimistic that the stations in the last three phases will similarly be able to meet their phase completion dates. We will continue to monitor and work with those stations to ensure the continued success of the Transition Scheduling Plan,” the report read.

Of the 697 stations that have moved off their previous channel, the FCC says that 79% have fully completed their transition to permanent facilities as of Dec. 6. The remaining 21% of stations have been granted permission to operate on an interim basis at variance from what was agreed to in their post-auction construction permit.

The FCC also updated its cost estimates from full power, Class and MVPD stations. Initially, estimates were more than $2.1 billion for all stations, but as of Dec. 6 the estimates for all stations totaled $1,951,302,007. To date, the FCC says it has reimbursed $886,033,437 to stations—$860,144,147 to full power TV stations; $25,664,778 to Class A stations; and $224,512 to MVPDs.

The commission also noted that it has helped educate consumers needing to rescan their over-the-air TVs to find the repacked channels. It reports that its FCC.gov/TVrescan webpage has received 2.1 million hits since launching in 2018. It has also issued radio and print ads, and launched a dedicated call center in 2019.

There are some in the industry, however, who question whether or not the repack can be fully completed in the timeline laid out by the FCC.

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

WASHINGTON—Happy rescan day to any antenna users whose local TV stations took part in phase six of the post-incentive spectrum repack. Starting today, those who use an antenna to access their TV programs will need to rescan their TVs to continue watching as stations move to their new channels.

Multiple stations in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee are officially transitioning to their new digital frequency locations. Stations gave their viewers 30-day notices of the impending change, and many local stations and news outlets have been posting stories online all week to remind viewers.

The repack was conducted to make room for 5G and other mobile broadband services.

The FCC does provide resources on how to properly rescan televisions to ensure viewers keep access to local stations. They also offer an online service where viewers can enter their address and see if they are impacted by this current phase of the repack.

Phase six of the repack officially ends on Oct. 18. The entire repack process is expected to conclude in July 2020.

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

GRAPEVINE, Texas—FCC Chairman Pai gave a progress report about the channel repack, touting “great progress” since work began in April 2017. He added that the transition—which involves channel and/or location changes for approximately 1,000 full-power and Class A television broadcasters and about 2,000 low-power and translator television stations—is “ahead of schedule.”

In remarks to the annual meeting of the National Association of Tower Erectors today, the chairman noted the abbreviated timetable for finishing the transition by July 2020 and the resulting pressure on tower companies.

“The limited availability of tower crews capable of doing this work was a big factor in our transition planning from the start,” he said. “We designed a phased transition schedule that allows both tower companies and equipment manufacturers to prioritize stations in early phases and to strategically allocate resources. We built in flexibility to make adjustments so that safety is never compromised.”

At the conclusion of Phase 1, which ended Nov. 30, 2018, 143 repacked stations had already moved off their pre-auction channels, approximately 53 more stations than the FCC had planned to be repacked by the end of Phase 1, according to Pai. More than 20 of the approximately 115 stations assigned to Phase 2, which ends April 12, 2019 have been moved to their new channel.

Pai said that a total of $2.75 billion (including an additional $1 billion authorized by Congress last year) is available to reimburse broadcasters for repack costs, with more than $350 million already approved for reimbursements.

The FCC chairman acknowledged the concerns tower companies have had about availability, weather and deadlines, especially in a period when wireless companies are moving forward with 5G deployments. He encouraged the companies to be proactive.

“Coordination with stations and equipment manufacturers will be key,” Pai said. “Working together, I’m optimistic that we can be as successful as we were in Phase 1 and stay on track to complete this work for full-power and Class A stations by July 2020."

Pai added that tower crews are also helping the recipients of the 600MHz spectrum sold off by broadcasters two years ago deploy new services, citing T-Mobile’s recent progress in this area.

“NATE members are also deploying infrastructure so that wireless carriers can put the licenses awarded to incentive auction winners to use,” he said. “This deployment is now a reality in many places and is underway in many others. For example, one carrier has already lit up service using 600 MHz spectrum in more than 1,500 cities and 37 states, including Puerto Rico. For many of your members, this is intense, ongoing work. For American consumers, this means new competition and opportunities to benefit from 5G.”

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

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission today announced the launch of a special call center dedicated to helping viewers of over-the-air television rescan their TVs during the ongoing transition of local TV channels to new frequencies following the Commission’s broadcast incentive auction.

Incentive Auction Task Force Chair Jean Kiddoo said, “As an over-the-air TV viewer myself, I know that consumers sometimes need extra help rescanning televisions when broadcast stations add channels or change frequencies. That’s why it’s so important to make both online information and telephone assistance like the consumer help line available to viewers during the ongoing broadcast transition.”

Viewers may reach the call center toll-free by dialing 1-888-CALLFCC (1-888-225-5322) and pressing “6” to speak to a help desk representative. The call center is staffed from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Eastern time, seven days a week, to enable consumers throughout the country to obtain assistance during evening and weekend hours.

Many over-the-air TV channels across the United States have changed and will be changing frequencies to open up airwaves for new high-speed 5G and other wireless services. The actual channel numbers on consumers’ TVs will not change, but a change in frequency impacts how a channel is received over the air by a TV receiver. If consumers watch free over-the-air television with an antenna, they will need to rescan their TV set each time a local station moves to a new frequency to be sure that the TV recognizes the new frequency when consumers tune in to that channel. TV stations will make on-air announcements at least 30 days in advance of making the change. Viewers who subscribe to cable or satellite services do not need to take any action to continue receiving local channels.

In 2018, Congress funded FCC efforts to educate consumers about the reorganization of broadcast television spectrum, including the dedicated consumer call center, online materials, and consumer outreach to a diverse set of communities nationwide about rescanning. The Commission is coordinating closely with industry stakeholders to ensure that our consumer education efforts are complementary to, and not duplicative of, industry efforts.

For more information on the broadcast TV transition and rescanning, visit www.fcc.gov/TVrescan, which also includes a link to an interactive map that allows viewers to insert an address to see the frequency change timeframe for most local channels.

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

WASHINGTON—The House Energy & Commerce Committee Wednesday (Feb. 14) will mark up a bill that will include a valentine to broadcasters (and potentially some cable operators)—more money for the post-incentive auction repack.

The mark-up—a session to amend and vote on bills—will include H.R. 4986, the FCC Reauthorization Act of 2018, which passed out of the Communications Subcommittee unanimously, but with the suggestion that the harder work, and amendments, would come in the full committee.

[Walden: We Need to Find $3B for Auction Repack] 

One of those amendments would authorize a fund to handle the apparent shortfall in the $1.75 billion fund per an amendment to be added at the markup.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), ranking member of the committee, has pushed for boosting the repack funds for broadcasters to make sure that viewers are not adversely impacted by the repack.

The FCC has conceded that $1.75 billion will likely undershoot the mark by several hundred million dollars. The bill would also set aside money to help relocate translators and low power stations displace by the repack. They were not made part of the repack fund, and their channels not protected in the repack.

The FCC reauthorization also incorporates provisions from the Senate's MOBILE Now Act, which would make sure that the FCC made mid-band spectrum available for commercial use (for 5G) by 2020. It also incorporates Rep. Anna Eshoo's (D-Calif.) FCC Collaboration Act, which would allow more than two commissioners to meet outside of public meetings so long as certain sunshine criteria are met. Eshoo, the former ranking member of the Communications Subcommittee, has long pushed for the change. 

Among the FCC reforms, in addition to allowing a majority of the commissioners to meet outside of the monthly meetings, include setting minimum comment periods; reporting to Congress on the status of open proceedings—some of which have historically been open for years—including on who hasn't voted on items on circulation; look into allowing a bipartisan majority of members to put items on the agenda for an open meeting vote—a privilege now reserved to the chairman; insuring that commissioners have enough time to review items before voting on them and that the public has a chance to read the text of an item before a vote, set deadlines for decisions on license applications, and much more.

The bill also sets a deadline for publication of an item in the Federal Register, which triggers the effective date of said rules, and the ability of outside parties to challenge them in court. That issue is currently of particular interest since the Federal Register has yet to publish the FCC's Dec. 14 decision to roll back net neutrality rules.

This story first appeared on TVT's sister publication B&C.

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