Comments on: Decision Time: Does the Nation Need TV or Mobile Broadband?

By: Wireless Group Says TV Spectrum Worth $33B: Broadband News and Analysis «

Wireless Group Says TV Spectrum Worth $33B: Broadband News and Analysis « — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:01:55 +0000

[...] The plan details — and the estimates of the spectrum’s worth– are by no means certain. Determining valuation will require an actual auction and rules around the spectrum that will either enhance or diminish its value, as well as for Congress to pass a law allowing the government to split the proceeds. At this point, analysts and sources inside the FCC put that chance at about 50-50. So, while CTIA’s estimates of scoring $0.978 for every megahertz covering a single member of the population sound lovely, they’re still pie in the sky until we get a law enabling an incentive auction to proceed and rules that will determine how a winner can use the spectrum their buy. However, given that the 700Mhz auction netted the feds 1.03 for MHz/POP from Verizon and more on a MHz/POP basis from AT&T, CTIA and CES may not be out of the ballpark on their estimates, as long as the auctions take place. [...]

By: Obama’s Wireless Plan Favors Broadband Over TV: Broadband News and Analysis «

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:57:50 +0000

[...] I’ve been skeptical of this plan, since everyone knows spectrum is valuable and broadcasters don’t want to give it up, especially those in large, urban markets where the need for airwaves is the highest. Broadcasters are also working to use the spectrum for their own mobile television service that delivers broadcast TV to devices that have a special kind of chip to receive it. It’s a dubious service offering, and may simply be a feint to boost the value of the spectrum so mobile operators don’t get it, or have to pay even more for it. However, a source that [THAT or AT THE FCC?] FCC says that the agency is confident that enough broadcasters, even in urban areas, would be willing to give up their airwaves if paid to do so. He pointed to stations in the bottom tier in big markets and said they likely aren’t making a profit, so the decision to take a big check for a portion of their airwaves is an easy one to make. [...]

By: Broadcasters Keep Pushing the Mobile TV Boulder Uphill: Tech News «

Broadcasters Keep Pushing the Mobile TV Boulder Uphill: Tech News « — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 21:59:23 +0000

[...] for mobile broadband to deliver services that would include the web, voice and yes, video, the FCC is trying to wrangle some of that spectrum currently held by the broadcasters. The Mobile Content Venture tries to get around this by saying [...]

By: Worried About Tablets the FCC Gets Serious About Spectrum: Tech News «

Worried About Tablets the FCC Gets Serious About Spectrum: Tech News « — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 17:10:46 +0000

[...] involved in any process aimed at making more of it available. There are also the nation’s broadcasters which are likely to fight the good fight to keep its spectrum for delivering over the air television, but also services such as mobile TV [...]

By: GigaOM’s Top 15 Mobilize Influencers 2010: Tech News «

GigaOM’s Top 15 Mobilize Influencers 2010: Tech News « — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 18:18:04 +0000

[...] at the agency. With up to 500 MHz of new spectrum supposed to come online in the next 10 years, some of that pretty contentious, as well as the growing power that mobile operators have over both consumers and developers [...]

By: Broadcasters Announce Plan to Use Spectrum Before They Lose It

Broadcasters Announce Plan to Use Spectrum Before They Lose It — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 23:13:34 +0000

[...] broadcasters to switch spectrum through the digital television transition, the commission now is trying to reclaim some broadcast spectrum for mobile broadband services in an effort to avert a possible spectrum [...]

By: FCC’s Broadband Plan: Mobile Broadband Will Save Us! – GigaOM

FCC’s Broadband Plan: Mobile Broadband Will Save Us! – GigaOM — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:24:51 +0000

[...] in urban areas, where cellular providers have the most need for spectrum, which will pit the FCC and carriers against big broadcasters and over-the-air television watchers in big cities. Oh. My. God. It’s going to be a showdown. But I’m glad the FCC [...]

By: National Broadband Plan Will Be a Day Early But Fall Short – GigaOM

National Broadband Plan Will Be a Day Early But Fall Short – GigaOM — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 17:02:32 +0000

[...] the government won’t demand that spectrum from broadcasters, as had been originally floated by the FCC. Instead the FCC is asking broadcast television spectrum holders to voluntarily give up their [...]

By: Analyst: Spectrum Shortage Will Strike in 2013 – GigaOM

Analyst: Spectrum Shortage Will Strike in 2013 – GigaOM — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:02:52 +0000

[...] from the developers building more resource-aware mobile applications to the folks in Washington allocating the spectrum and dictating regulations around mobile broadband will have to work together in order to make sure [...]

By: Fox-TWC Fight Could Weaken Broadcasters’ Hold on Spectrum – GigaOM

Fox-TWC Fight Could Weaken Broadcasters’ Hold on Spectrum – GigaOM — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:55:17 +0000

[...] and News Corp. over retransmission fees for Fox’s broadcast channels may make it hard for the broadcast industry to defend its precious spectrum from the cellular industry’s attempt to take it. Time Warner Cable and News Corp are in a [...]

By: Satellite Cos. Pitch Their Spectrum to the FCC and Eventually Carriers

Satellite Cos. Pitch Their Spectrum to the FCC and Eventually Carriers — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:02:00 +0000

[...] CTIA is asking the FCC for 800 MHz and isn’t afraid of going up against broadcasters to get it, so this plea for a rethink on satellite may just be the organization’s effort to throw [...]

By: Ray

Ray — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:40:23 +0000

I current growth rates, it’s doubtful that any increase in wireless spectrum will satisfy the demand. Any additional spectrum now is in a sense a cheap giveaway of a valuable national resource to the carriers.

The issue is the existing tower infrastructure. You can double the spectrum allocation that a tower can use, but that only doubles the data capacity, hardly a solution for a demand that’s growing exponentially. The real solution is to increase the number of available cells with a corresponding decrease in range and power. The are innovated technologies in place and in development for doing so, incorporating transponder technology in infrastructure: buildings, utility and light poles, roadways, etc., for instance. The beauty is that increase capacity is created where it’s most needed, urban areas and transportation corridors. The problem, at least as far as the carriers are concerned, is the cost of the build out and that they won’t be granted another chunk of a public resource.

By: Len Feldman

Len Feldman — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:00:38 +0000

The FCC may not have to claw back bandwidth from broadcasters in order to get what’s needed for mobile bandwidth. There are more than a hundred television stations around the country whose owners are bankrupt or are operating the stations on a “day-to-day” basis, trying to keep the lights on. If these owners were compensated for giving their frequencies back to the FCC, a good deal of bandwidth would become available without anyone being forced to participate. The FCC could also offer station owners the option of returning a portion of their bandwidth in return for compensation. By making the buyouts voluntary and appealing, especially for bankrupt operators, the FCC could get the bandwidth it’s looking for.