Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Will Broadcasters Sell Their Spectrum?

Would you? FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski proposed to congress in his recent National Broadband Plan that over 500 Mhz of spectrum be devoted to wireless broadband in the coming decade. Where will this spectrum come from? Nearly 1/4 of it is expected to be reclaimed from existing broadcasters. The question is, will they fold?

In a speech earlier this week, Genachowski presented his proposed auctioning of spectrum as a win-win for broadcasters. They can profit from the sale of their existing air-wave property, meanwhile consumers gain greater access to wireless broadband. It all seems logical, to a point.

The costs are high for broadcasters to make this shift. For starters, for the portion of viewers still receiving their signal via antenna, they may have to change their dial to find their favorite station. But, on the broadcaster's side, they'll have to change dials too. Lots of dials. They will need to find new avenues for broadcasting their signal which could entail anything from switching settings to installing new systems and equipment.

Gordon Smith, president of NAB, likened the FCC's tactics to those of the mafia. "Either your signature or your brains will be on the contract," the Los Angeles Times quoted him as saying, paraphrasing the "Godfather" mafia don, when talking about Genachowski's pitch.

Of course, the point is moot in the end anyway, as the FCC reserves "plan B" which entails forced surrender of the required spectrum. So, will the auctions really benefit broadcasters as Genachowski suggests?

But, lest we fault the government too harshly, consider the flip side of the coin. On that flip side, the nation has an undeniable need for broadband. More so, I might argue, than we have for local broadcast communications. Genachowski is in a bit of tough position, forced to choose which is more advantageous for the future of our nation's economy: preserving age-old broadcast licensing or enabling the expansion of a communication medium that has shaped our world for the last decade.

Labels: Broadband Plan, FCC