FCC Floats Cash-For-TV-Spectrum Scheme

Blair Levin, head of the Federal Commission Commission's efforts to write a National Broadband Plan, met with leading television broadcasters in Washington to discuss the nation's urgent need for more spectrum for wireless broadband access to the Internet and the possibility of broadcasters' relinquishing most of their spectrum to help meet that demand. According to sources familiar with the October 8 meeting with the board of the Association for Maximum Service Television (MSTV), Levin suggested broadcasters might want to consider returning their spectrum in exchange for a share in the billions of dollars that would come from the auction of the spectrum to the wireless industry. Broadcasting would retain just enough spectrum so that each station could provide a lifeline standard-definition service to the millions of TV viewers who still rely on over-the-air reception. Broadcasters could no longer offer over-the-air HD and second channels and mobile video would be off the table, but they could continue to provide a single channel of TV to every home in their markets as they do today — in full-blown HD via cable and satellite carriage and SD via the over-the-air lifeline service. There seems to be consensus among the broadcasters to hang on to the spectrum they have now and move ahead with plans on monetizing it further through multicasting and mobile video.