Wireless microphone maker Shure urged the FCC to continue to...

an NPRM on rules for an incentive auction of TV spectrum. (See separate report in this issue.) “Important content producers such as the NAB and the NFL [have] voiced strong opposition to the proposed elimination of the two wireless microphone reserve channels, the need for which is clearly demonstrated by the record in this proceeding as well as that developed in the White Spaces proceeding,” Shure said (http://bit.ly/Z7a5tW). “The Commission has already recognized that the two reserve channels are the only means by which wireless microphone users can be certain to have interference-free spectrum available for unlicensed wireless microphone use and itinerant operations.” Sennheiser Electronic said “TV-band wireless microphones are essential to large segments of the U.S. economy -- films, television, live and recorded music, live theater, even sports -- that are part of the ‘core copyright’ industries which account for more than $1 trillion in annual revenues, 6 percent of GDP, and 5 percent of private employment in the United States” (http://bit.ly/152dbQA): “They play an equally vital role in education, communal worship, and democratic functioning at all levels of government.” The FCC shouldn’t reserve channels for wireless mics, the Wireless Internet Service Provider Association said (http://bit.ly/13YIcJx). “In all cases, wireless microphones should reserve only the spectrum that they plan to use, not a full six megahertz,” WISPA said. “This hierarchy will preserve the same amount of spectrum for wireless microphones, but in a more spectrally efficient way that allows non-interfering opportunistic use by unlicensed devices.” The FCC shouldn’t alter its rules to make it easier to use a wireless mic in TV spectrum, Microsoft said. “Granting licenses to additional wireless microphone users under Part 74 would reward and incent inefficient use of scarce spectrum resources, undermining the Commission’s goal of encouraging more efficient wireless microphones,” the company said (http://bit.ly/13VGtnK). “In no fewer than three separate proceedings, the Commission has reiterated its concern that wireless microphones ‘generally have operated inefficiently.'” TV networks, sports leagues and broadcasters sought to protect wireless microphone use and other low power auxiliary station (LPAS) users in comments in the incentive spectrum auction and LPAS dockets filed this week. In jointly-filed reply comments, the offices of the Major League Baseball Commissioner, the NBA, NFL, NHL, NCAA and NASCAR urged the commission to reject proposals that would eliminate two dedicated wireless mic channels (http://bit.ly/10Tf2dO). “Eliminating these two channels would effectively make it impossible to operate reliable wireless microphones,” they said. Initial comments reflected a strong consensus that producers of large live events should be able to get Part 74 licenses and receive interference protection in the white spaces database, they said. The spectrum available for such services is already congested, NAB said (http://bit.ly/152s4m1). But if the FCC decides to reduce or eliminate the safe harbor channels for it could add protections such as real- or near real-time registration and frequent checking of the database by white space devices, such as every 20 minutes rather than every 24 hours, NAB said. Disney, CBS, Viacom, News Corp., Time Warner and Univision filed joint comments in the incentive auction docket seeking wireless mic protections (http://bit.ly/Z7qQFd). They also asked for the retention of two safe harbor channels, as did the broadcast engineering consulting firm Cohen Dippell (http://bit.ly/ZLi7rn). In separate comments, Disney said that any loss of bandwidth in the UHF band available for wireless mic operations will limit stations’ ability to “provide news and information to the public after a major disaster” (http://bit.ly/XAxGq8).