NAB Battles Microsoft's White Spaces Play

WASHINGTON--Microsoft is pushing the FCC to reserve a "white space" channel in every market in the repack of TV stations following the incentive auction, and broadcasters aren't happy.

Last month, Microsoft execs met with commissioner aides and FCC staffers to argue that was important to enable internet access for rural and underserved communities, and next week Microsoft president Brad Smith is scheduled to talk up "tapping into unused spectrum" as part of a national rural broadband strategy at a Media Institute luncheon July 11.

In response, the National Association of Broadcasters, fired back in a blog post by auction point man Patrick McFadden.

Broadcasting & Cable has the rest of the story.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio WorldTV TechTV FaxThis Week in Consumer ElectronicsVariety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.