NAB: FCC Spectrum Scenarios Raise More Qs Than As

The National Association of Broadcasters has taken issue, make that issues, with the Federal Communications Commission's recent simulations of various scenarios for setting clearing targets for spectrum in the incentive auction. In a filing with the FCC June 4, NAB said the FCC's public notice on the simulations raises more questions than it answers, particularly by basing the simulation on a different standard for how much allowable interference there would be to stations and wireless carriers when stations are repacked after the auction.

Two weeks ago, the FCC released some data from incentive auction simulations -- based on three separate spectrum clearing targets -- of how it would "optimize" its reclamation and divvying up of the 600 MHz spectrum band between wireless carriers and broadcasters in the incentive auction. Optimizing means getting the most spectrum while creating the least post-auction interference (impairment) in the repacked spectrum bands. The scenarios it ran were for freeing up 85 MHz of broadcast spectrum (if 40 percent-50 percent of broadcasters participated), 114 MHz (50 percent-60 percent participation), and 126 MHz (60 percent-70 percent) participation -- Fox, Ion, Univision and Tribune have told the FCC it should shoot for 126 MHZ. “Participation” doesn’t mean that is what percentage of stations need to give up spectrum. That is the percentage who participate in the auction, win or lose. numbers. NAB said it was troubled with the FCC's use of a new standard for limiting market variability -- the difference in the amount of spectrum cleared in different markets -- and was not sure how that would be applied. NAB called it a "step backwards" from the "shared goal" of a successful auction.