Smith To FCC: Voluntary Does Not Mean Forced Repacking

At the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas, NAB Chairman Gordon Smith said broadcasters are in the battle of their lives against forces of "new media" painting them as stuck in the Howdy Doody era, and government overreaching for the next broadband app.

He said that forcibly repacking stations was not his idea of a voluntary spectrum reclamation plan. Broadcasters have embraced the digital future, he said, suggesting that they now faced a concerted effort to squeeze the life out of a service that is forward-thinking and ready to be a partner in the broadband future. He said the $15 billion broadcasters spent transitioning from analog to digital -- and giving up 25% of spectrum in the process--was in order to remain relevant in a digital age, but now less than two years later, wireless companies want another 40%. "Hey, we already gave at the office," he said.