Low Power TV, 800 MHz Revisions Top October Meeting Agenda

Martin told reporters Thursday he still hopes for a vote this year approving rules for an AWS-3 auction offering spectrum for sale to a carrier who would offer free national broadband. The administration and Republicans in Congress oppose the idea. Martin told reporters he opposes creation of a broad industry-public safety committee, like one launched to write cellphone alert rules, to finalize E-911 location accuracy rules.

A proposal to let Class A TV stations seek full-power status as they move to DTV is also ready for a vote, Martin said. The further notice of proposed rulemaking would let Class A stations demand mandatory carriage by pay-TV operators and assign them public interest and kids’ programming duties imposed on full-power stations. The cable industry is likely to oppose the move, as it has other attempts to expand must-carry rights. Implementing the proposal would enhance diversity in broadcast programming and ownership, Martin said.

More than 230 Class A and LPTV stations are Spanish- language stations, according to the FCC. And a “significant percentage of Spanish-speaking households rely on over-the air signals,” Martin said. Implementing the proposal would help those stations, which already serve their communities with local programming, get the benefits enjoyed by full- power counterparts, as long as they aren’t found to interfere with other licensees, he said. “It allows a Class A station to be at the front of the line,” he said. Martin wouldn’t say if stations granted full-power status would have to increase their power levels. When pressed, he said: “Our rules just say that you have to be able to serve the community of license.” Among full power stations, power levels differ dramatically, he said.

If adopted, the plan would help Class A stations raise money they need to switch to DTV broadcasts, the Community Broadcasters Association said. “I hope and believe that the other Commissioners will step up to the plate and cast their votes in favor of the principles of localism and diversity they have all espoused,” CBA President Ron Bruno said. The NCTA has opposed efforts to expand must-carry rights to Class A stations this year. Congress has reminded the FCC this week of the challenges surrounding the DTV transition, NCTA said. “So we are surprised that the Chairman again wants to distract the Commission and throw a monkey wrench into its transition efforts by tinkering with the law and imposing unnecessary and unconstitutional requirements.”

The other item Martin highlighted resolves a remaining question entangling the 800 MHz rebanding. Sprint lost a court challenge to an FCC order imposing more reconfiguration deadlines on Sprint. The carrier claimed that the FCC deadlines went beyond its agreements under the landmark 2004 800 MHz rebanding order. The FCC has yet to set a deadline for Sprint to vacate spectrum holdings in the 800 MHz interleaved band (809-815/854-860 MHz), expansion band (815-816/860-861 MHz), and guard band (816-817/861-862 MHz).

“After the litigation, [Sprint Nextel] had put forth a much more aggressive timetable for exiting the spectrum, but the public safety community was still wanting to have a final deadline by which they would be gone,” Martin explained. The order “does adopt [Sprint’s] timeframe, but it does have a final end date by which they have to be gone.”

Martin said the order took months to write because of disagreements between Sprint and public safety. Public safety groups argued to set the deadline for next July, while Sprint wanted no hard deadline at all, he said. “It took a while to work back and forth to come up with what I felt was a fair hard deadline,” Martin said.

On a key wireless issue, Martin argued against creating a special committee to develop wireless E-911 location- accuracy standards. T-Mobile and the Rural Cellular Association asked for a committee like one that wrote rules for emergency alerts to cellphones mandated by the WARN Act. “Some of the carriers and public safety have come to a standard that they all agree on,” Martin said. “It’s important for us to move forward as quickly as we can.”

Martin termed wireline items on the agenda “technical clean up.” An FCC official said the matters, none contentious, are on the agenda only to force commissioners to vote and probably will be voted on before the Oct. 15 meeting. On the table is an order denying Marylander Michael Lovern’s petition to reconsider approval of AT&T’s takeover of BellSouth. The draft of that order circulated in May (CD May 12 p5). Commissioners also will vote on two junk fax items: a notice of liability and a reconsideration order involving direct marketers’ request to clarify FCC rules to make it easier to do legitimate business. -- Howard Buskirk, Josh Wein

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The FCC will consider at its Oct. 15 meeting left-over rules billed as streamlining satellite earth-station licensing, Chairman Kevin Martin told reporters Thursday. The item, which deals with technical and engineering rules, was first circulated by Martin in July 2007. The item deals with matters left over from rules set several years ago. This will be the eighth report and order for docket 00-248. The FCC will also consider the second annual satellite competition report, circulated Sept. 18. The Satellite Industry Association and the Consumer Coalition for Competition in Satellite Radio, an NAB-sponsored group that opposed Sirius’ takeover of XM, were the only parties that commented on the report, which was required by Congress.