FCC Media Bureau to Broadcasters: Help Us Structure Spectrum Auctions

Federal Communications Commission Media Bureau Chief Bill Lake suggested to broadcasters that the FCC needs to look at taking spectrum back from broadcasters who are not capitalizing on the digital "dividend" to operate more efficiently.

He said that "some broadcasters are making good use of this spectrum dividend; others are not. This means it is inevitable that, as we look for sources of spectrum, one place we need to look is broadcast spectrum that is not being efficiently used." But he said that while it "may be tempting to be wistful about the way things were...this is your chance to be part of the solution by working creatively with us."

The FCC is planning to reclaim as much as 120 MHz of broadcast spectrum, and launched its effort to do so at its last monthly meeting Nov. 30. It proposed rules to reclassify broadcast spectrum so that wireless broadband is also entitled to use it, allowing for channel sharing by broadcasters, trying to make the VHF band more DTV-friendly and increasing opportunities for flexible use. Lake said he wanted broadcaster input on those proposals. "We would love to receive the constructive input of people in this room on the ideas in that Notice, and on each of the future steps that will be necessary to implement the proposal." But he suggested that input needed to be informed by two facts: "The stratospheric growth of wireless broadband use" and "that the digital transition makes it possible to transmit broadcast TV programming more efficiently."