Coverage Tops Stations' Repack Concerns

In two meetings with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler, broadcasting representatives underscored their concern that the FCC's incentive auction and collateral repacking of the TV band would force "many hundreds of broadcasters" to move to new channels and diminish their over-the-air coverage, according to an account of the meeting issued by the representatives.

The meetings may have been the last formal opportunity for the reps to meet with Chairman Wheeler before the FCC adopts its incentive auction order on May 15. The broadcasters' concern about losing coverage stems from the FCC's plan to use a modified version of the OET-69 coverage model in calculating the coverage of stations in the repacking of the band.

Because OET-69 is "hotly contested," the reps said, the FCC should open a separate rulemaking to consider making modifications to it. "Following that rulemaking, if it is determined that some change is both lawful and occurs, then that change (or those changes) must be flagged and no further changes should be made outside of an OET-69 notice and comment rulemaking review."