(TVB) Permanent linkThe broadcast television industry was whistling
in the wind. Parading its record of public service in the way of AMBER Alerts,
emergency warnings and free air time for political debates. Trumpeting broadcast
television as the primary provider of local news throughout the country. Reasoning
that broadcasting remains the most efficient use of radio frequency spectrum.
The industry was shouted down. By the First Web Surfer himself. The gist of
President Barack Obama’s 1,344-word memo, entitled “Unleashing the Wireless
Broadband Revolution,” directed federal agencies to cough up 500 MHz of
spectrum for broadband. Come what may.
Shots were fired from these parts before on the use of “unleashing,” and whether
the term properly represents what’s actually going on here. The Federal
Communications Commission last week commenced its own “unleashing” of Mobile
Satellite Spectrum for wireless broadband. A search of the commission’s Web
site turns up 372 unleashings. The leash industry should be trembling. So
should the broadcast industry.
The presidential memo cheat sheet, issued by the National Economic Counsel,
contains an edifying bit of verbiage in a paragraph calling for an inventory of
current spectrum users: “...this inventory
is
not necessary to enable the repurposing of large swaths of spectrum.”
That would appear give the Federal Communications Commission authority to start
moving incumbents whether or not Congress passes a spectrum inventory bill. The
reality is, it will be easier for the FCC to squeeze broadcasters off the air
than to comb through current licenses for unused spectrum. There must be
thousands of licenses issued--a total is hard to come by. The fed’s radio frequency
allocation
chart
looks like a distorted spectrograph. There are myriad licensees in each of
those tiny blocks of color. How many are sitting on spectrum that could
otherwise be unleashed? The billion dollar question.
What’s actually going on here depends on one’s perspective. It appears to be
legacy building from an observational standpoint. For folks disillusioned with
cellular networks, the Nationwide Broadband Plan sounds like a pretty good deal
Who doesn’t want a handheld computer TV Skype phone that works everywhere? Unfortunately,
there’s not been one word of discussion about related costs to taxpayers and
consumers.
Current wireless broadband plans run around $60 a month plus overage charges,
one-time $30 to $35 activation fees and up to $200 for early contract
termination. This is for service on existing cellular networks. Four of five
providers compared by
Mobile
Broadband Reviews list coverage as “nationwide.” It would appear that the
United States already has nationwide broadband. So what’s up with a
government-funded nationwide broadband plan? Presumably, the idea is to create
one giant network accessible from anywhere, anytime.
Rare is the electronically inclined individual who doesn’t want ubiquitous
Internet connectivity. We’ve come to rely so thoroughly on the Matrix that we
can’t leave our homes to fetch Cheez Doodles and a six-pack without it. Or so
we’re led to believe. There are still people out there who don’t pick up
e-mails with what used to be known as cell phones. Some of us are more than
happy to unplug once in a while.
Such details have little bearing on the administration’s insistent march toward
spectrum reallocation. Broadcast television is considered a dinosaur holding up
a thoroughbred. It doesn’t matter what the final picture of the government’s
nationwide broadband plan looks like. The final picture of broadcast television
appears to be clearer all the time. If it’s truly the death scene it appears to
be, let’s hope it’s a doozy. Posted by Deborah McAdams at 07/01/2010 03:50:40 PM |
Wi-Fi everywhere IS the future of "Broadcasting". Its two-way abilities are highly valued by the very advertisers that have supported OTA all these years. Despite what the industry says, WiFi, WiMax, whatever, IS the best use of the RF spectrum. Bye Bye 20th century.
Posted by: Marc Wiener ( Email: ) at 7/2/2010 7:42 PM
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