Lawmakers want firm deadline for broadcasters to give back spectrum

[Gregg Lengling]

WASHINGTON-Lawmakers on Wednesday called for making firm the mandate that TV
broadcasters give back spectrum in the 700 MHz band by the end of 2006.

Reps. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) and Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) told the House
telecommunications subcommittee that while it may be hard for TV broadcasters to
complete the transition to digital TV by the end of 2006, the spectrum needs of
public safety must come first. "There is no doubt about it; this is an overriding
priority," said Weldon.

Harman and Weldon met some resistance from members of the House telecommunications
subcommittee who worried there would be an outcry if broadcasters are forced to
turn off their digital signal before a sufficient number of consumers have the
capability of receiving digital signals.

Currently broadcasters must give back their spectrum by Dec. 31, 2006, or when 85
percent of the homes in their viewing area are capable of receiving digital
signals.

Meeting the 85-percent threshold is likely to take some time. Edmond Thomas, chief
of the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology, said that currently only 1
percent of homes in America are capable of receiving digital signals.

The Harman/Weldon legislation would make the December 2006 date firm and take away
the percentage milestone.

In addition to making 24 megahertz of spectrum available for public-safety
communications, the TV broadcast spectrum give-back would make additional spectrum
available for commercial uses. Six megahertz has been auctioned as a guard band
for public safety and must be used by band managers who lease it to
private-wireless interests. Nextel Communications Inc. has proposed giving back
the guard-band spectrum in the 700 MHz band that it won at auction as part of its
plan to solve the public-safety interference problem in the 800 MHz band. Thirty
megahertz will be auctioned at a later date for commercial uses.