Genachowski To TV: Take It Or Leave It

[Commentary] The National Broadband Plan comes down to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski saying this to broadcasters: We can do this the easy way or we can do it the hard way, but, make no mistake, we are going to take back 120 MHz of your spectrum and sell it to wireless providers so that more Americans can have faster mobile access to the Internet.

The easy way is for broadcasters to simply go along with the NBP's principal proposals: 1) Acquiesce to a repacking of the broadcast plan to free up at least six channels (36 MHz). 2) "Voluntarily" enter into arrangements under which two or more stations would share a single 6 MHz broadcast channel so the FCC can recover another 14 channels (84 MHz). Stations that choose to give up all or some of their spectrum through channel sharing would be rewarded. They would be entitled to a percentage of the proceeds from the eventual auctioning of the spectrum to wireless providers. However, if broadcasters fail to go for channel sharing and auction cash in sufficient numbers or if Congress fails to allow broadcasters in on the auction take, then the NBP says the FCC should do it the hard way.