ATSC 3.0 Getting Pushback From Advocates for Unlicensed Use of White Spaces

Advocates for unlicensed use of TV white spaces are concerned ATSC 3.0 could be a future threat, but supporters of the new standard say no such threat exists and the FCC shouldn’t put unlicensed use of spectrum ahead of broadcast licensees. “The idea that you would constrain broadcasting to protect unlicensed service is anathema to the purpose of the FCC,” said Pillsbury Winthrop communications attorney John Hane, who represents broadcasters pushing for the new standard.

Broadcasters have always opposed unlicensed use of the white spaces, and they could use the new standard to try to limit those uses, said Public Knowledge Policy Fellow John Gasparini. The FCC “should be very clear that it will not allow private licensees to foreclose the spectrum commons by demanding increased restrictions on TV white space devices to purportedly protect non-free ancillary or ATSC 3.0 data services,” said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America, in an ex parte filing last week. PK and others plan to raise the concerns over white spaces in comments on the ATSC 3.0 NPRM, Gasparini told us. Comments are due May 9.

There’s no reason 3.0 signals would interact differently than 1.0 signals with the TV white spaces, Hane said: “The spectral characteristics are nearly identical.” The FCC developed “a pretty complete record” on interservice interference, said Brian Markwalter, CTA senior vice president-research and standards. The association filed the petition asking the FCC to authorize ATSC 3.0, along with NAB and the AWARN Alliance. Existing rules protect the white spaces from broadcasters, Markwalter said. ATSC, CTIA and the Competitive Carriers Association didn’t comment Friday.

Concerns about the white spaces and 3.0 are based on what broadcasters might seek from the FCC in the future, Gasparini said. Being able to use the white spaces is important for rural broadband, Gaspari said. The white spaces spectrum “has always been attractive to providers,” said Wireless Internet Service Providers Association President Alex Phillips. Groups like PK aren’t opposed to 3.0 but simply think questions about possible complications such as restrictions on white spaces use should be asked, he said. Broadcasters receive their spectrum free from the government, Gasparini said. If a new standard is going to upgrade the value of broadcasters' spectrum, the FCC should explore the possible effects on other spectrum uses, he said. Broadcasters already accept many limitations and obligations for their spectrum, Hane said: They shouldn’t be limited to protect unlicensed uses.

It’s not immediately clear that 3.0 will lead to restrictions on white spaces use, Phillips said. TV white spaces are available mostly in rural areas, he said. It may take a while before 3.0 progresses to a level in such areas that broadcasters would have any concerns about the white spaces, he said.

“Despite years of hype over white spaces, there are only a few hundred white space devices operating in the entire country today," an NAB spokesman emailed us. “The FCC should not limit broadcasters’ ability to innovate in order to protect a failed white spaces experiment.”