Open Spectrum: Latest Publications

The broadcast industry’s digital TV (DTV) transition involves the future use of two different sets of frequencies (channels): channels 2-to-51 and channels 52-to-69. Channels 52-to-69 are all to be cleared of broadcasting at the end of DTV transition and reallocated for public safety agencies and for auction to commercial wireless services. Recently passed Congressional legislation proposing a fixed deadline for the DTV transition only addressed the future of channels 52-69. Channels 2-to-51 will remain allocated to DTV. But because an… more

The full version of this document (69 pp.), as well as a summary (2 pp.), are available in the attached PDF documents below.

On May 13, 2004, the Federal Communications Commission approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to allow a new generation of wireless devices to utilize vacant television channel frequencies in each market. This so-called TV band “white space” consists of frequencies that are allocated for television broadcasting but are not actually in use in a given area. The FCC’s proposed rulemaking is pending but currently inactive.

The proposed rules are intended to make way for technologies that utilize unlicensed… more

For the complete document, please see the attached PDF version below.

In an age of telecommunications convergence and Internet TV, DTV must-carry is a historical relic that nevertheless is likely to be preserved and expanded. Given that political reality, this paper makes two recommendations: 1) in the long-term, must-carry should be sunset and transformed into a blanket network neutrality rule for the Internet TV era, and 2) in the short-term, broadcasters should be held to quantifiable and enforceable public interest standards in exchange for any expansion of must-carry.

For the… more