8/13 FCC Reply Comments Seeking Reconsideration of Changes That Would Harm TV White Spaces Services

New America's Open Technology Institute wrote and submitted reply comments to support a Petition for Reconsideration from Microsoft seeking changes to the Federal Communications Commission's (the Commission) rules for broadcasters adopted in the Distributed Transmission System Report and Order. Public Knowledge and Tribal Digital Village also signed the comments, which argue that the Commission's decision to grant blanket permission for broadcasters to transmit signals with massive spillover into adjacent unlicensed spectrum would impose a severe and needless threat to the viability of operators using TV White Spaces (TVWS) spectrum to bring much-needed broadband service in rural, Tribal, and other unserved and hard-to-serve areas. The introduction and summary is available below:

OTI, PK and TDV strongly support Microsoft’s Petition for Reconsideration calling for the Commission to reverse its decision to adopt a blanket authorization for broadcasters to transmit “spillover” signals substantially beyond their traditional contours. The inclusion of this policy in the DTS Report and Order will harm the public interest by hindering the ability of small internet service providers (“ISPs”), localities, Tribes, schools, libraries, and other anchor institutions to operate using TVWS technology to reach hard-to-serve and remote areas. The uncertainty created by this policy is likely to deter, if not foreclose, future deployments of TVWS networks. Additionally, as a matter of spectrum management, the policy represents an unnecessary and unjustified spectrum giveaway, granting broadcasters vast new allocations of free spectrum for new broadcast services (so-called “Next Gen TV”) that shows no signs of widespread deployment.. The Commission failed to adequately consider and acknowledge the harms this broad deference to broadcasters brought in the Order, and therefore Microsoft’s request—supported by the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association—is warranted.

The Commission should instead heed the advice of Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel, Commissioner Starks, and Microsoft to replace the blanket authorization with a more tailored and expedited case-by-case waiver process. A waiver process that considers the extent of the DTS spillover, its public interest benefit, and the impact on TVWS operators and other users would provide broadcast stations with the flexibility to extend their signals beyond their traditional licensing area. However, it would not grant broadcasters carte blanche to claim more free spectrum over massive geographic areas and thereby disrupt or deter TVWS operations and deployments. The case-by-case waiver approach should be preferable for the Commission as well since it would provide individual broadcasters the additional spectrum they can justify without inflicting wholesale harm or foreclosure on the ability of TVWS operators and rural and Tribal communities to extend wireless internet access in unserved locations.

The broadcast industry’s rationale for additional spectrum has hinged on the supposedly revolutionary new services and features that next-generation broadcasting and ATSC 3.0 will deliver to consumers. However, as the record demonstrates and these comments describe, there are far more proven deployments of TV White Space-powered broadband providing public interest benefits to rural and Tribal communities than ATSC 3.0 deployments bringing consumer benefits to the general public. Despite claims it would be in widespread use by now, ATSC 3.0 deployments seem to be limited to pilots, trade shows, and marketing demonstrations.. The Commission should not dole out additional spectrum for free to broadcasters at the expense of TVWS operations that are proven to fill connectivity gaps in sparsely populated and remote areas, particularly for a broadcast service that remains hypothetical.

TV White Spaces technology has proven its capability to connect rural, Tribal, and other hard-to-serve areas that have lacked service due to low population density and challenging topography. TVWS technology has proven particularly useful in extending broadband connectivity in less populated, topographically challenging, and other unserved areas where more traditional methods of providing broadband internet access are infeasible or cannot sustain a sufficient return on investment. Despite the claims of broadcasters in the record to the contrary, TVWS operations have brought genuine public interest benefits. However, this potential only exists if the Commission fosters a favorable and stable regulatory environment for TVWS services. If the DTS Order is not reconsidered, broadcasters will have strong incentives to acquire new free spectrum even where that undermines the potential of TVWS to bridge the digital divide and harms consumers in these unserved areas of the country.