A computational study submitted to the FCC by...

The news is mostly good, AT&T said. The study found that some 200 broadcasters must voluntarily give up spectrum to hit a target of 84 MHz of spectrum being made available for auction without “domain constraints” identified by the FCC, with 250 exits needed if these constraints are taken into account. A domain constraint means that one broadcaster cannot be assigned to a given channel, mostly because of treaties with Canada and Mexico, which forbid U.S. stations from being assigned to channels where they would interfere with stations across the border, the report explained (http://bit.ly/1ng4WJq). It’s by Michael Kearns and Lili Dworkin of the University of Pennsylvania. “As important and interesting as these questions are, to date scant analysis on these questions has been offered,” said AT&T Vice President-Federal Regulatory Joan Marsh in a Wednesday blog post (http://bit.ly/1iaiRoz). There are few “black and white” answers, Marsh wrote. “For any clearing target, there are almost unlimited variations on possible broadcaster participation and a very large number of possible repacking solutions. But from the research, an outline of the scope of the possible begins to emerge.” The report also found that some surprising markets will likely be among the most challenging to clear. It said Milwaukee is on the list because of its closeness to the congested Chicago market, and North Carolina and South Carolina because they are tied into the “challenging East Coast daisy chain.” Challenges presented by the auction “are without a doubt significant,” but the analysis demonstrates that “as long as the financial incentives are attractive, a successful outcome is well within reach,” Marsh wrote. AT&T officials including Marsh explained the findings in a meeting last week with Gary Epstein, chairman of the Incentive Auction Task Force; Julius Knapp, chief of the Office of Engineering and Technology; and other FCC officials, said a Tuesday filing in docket 12-268 (http://bit.ly/1nPJQom). AT&T should be commended for taking on such a complex topic, and the results “reaffirm” past filings by broadcasters, NAB Executive Vice President Rick Kaplan told us. “It also sheds light into some of technical fundamentals and rudimentary questions that are necessary to help craft a first-rate auction and repacking process. NAB continues to work with all interested and affected industries to enhance the proposed FCC auction and repacking modeling.” The domain constraints include some issues like those concerning borders “that maybe can be negotiated away,” said Preston Padden, executive director of the Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition. “But it also includes constraints that cannot be made to go away like the five UHF public safety channels in New York City.”