NAB's Smith: FCC Withholding Spectrum Reclamation Information

The National Association of Broadcasters took aim at the National Broadband Plan in an effort to defend its spectrum turf.

The Federal Communications Commission countered that the association was employing scare tactics instead of working with it on a shared goal of preserving a strong over-the-air broadcasting system. NAB President Gordon Smith said that NAB was providing some "facts" about the impact of repacking and moving channels since the FCC had not come out with its modeling for such impacts, even though NAB had been asking for it. He argued legislators should know those facts before voting on incentive auction legislation. NAB has said it does not oppose incentive auctions, which would compensate broadcasters who want to give up spectrum for re-auctioning, but at the same time it has been making the point that broadcasters have a lot to live for, as it were, including mobile DTV and multicasting and even a one-to-many delivery model for broadband at peak loads times. And it has also pointed out that repacking and moving stations to clear blocks of spectrum for wireless auction is by definition not voluntary and will be disruptive to the stations that remain behind.