Remarks of Commissioner Pai at 2016 NAB Show Re: Repacking Broadcasters Following Incentive Auction

Later in 2016, we hope that the Federal Communications Commission will be able to celebrate the conclusion of a successful incentive auction. But once the auction closes, the FCC’s work will be far from over. Most importantly, the repack of television broadcast stations will remain ahead of us, and we will need to have a concrete plan in place to get that done.

This panel therefore comes at an opportune time. To date, most of the public discussion of the repack has centered on two critical topics: time and money. Will it be possible to complete the repack in the 39-month period allotted by the FCC? And will the repack cost more than the $1.75 billion provided by Congress? These are important questions, and I’m sure that we’ll touch on them. Whatever the approach, it seems to me that the basic decision we must confront is the same. Do we get our feet wet in places where repacking will be the easiest, in smaller markets with fewer television stations and a less congested UHF band, and then work our way up to the hardest areas? Or do we pull the Band-Aid off quickly and tackle the toughest markets right away?