To Serve Broadcasters*

In what appears to be an ongoing effort by the Media Bureau to soften the ground on the spectrum re-purposing front in advance of an eventual all-out assault, Bureau Chief William Lake recently spoke to the National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations, preaching the gospel of incentive auctions.

His message: We come in peace, with broadcasters’ interests at heart. Submit to our plans and everything will work out for the best. Honest. Maybe theirs is the path to the ultimate win-win-win situation. As we have previously urged, broadcasters should keep an open mind and give careful consideration to any final plan the Commission eventually comes up with. But broadcasters might also be forgiven if, at least for now, they opt for skepticism over unquestioning acceptance.

In his speech, Lake lays out five basic points:

1. The need for more spectrum for wireless broadband is real.
2. All the good spectrum is already occupied, so somebody’s going to have to be relocated – and that somebody should be TV.
3. The FCC has the broadcast industry’s interests at heart.
4. “It is natural to fear the unknown.”
5. Keep an open mind.