Industry Lacks FCC ‘Certainty’ on ATSC 3.0 Year After Petition Was Filed, CTA Says

The FCC “has the opportunity to seize the momentum” from the end of the incentive auction “to transition ATSC 3.0 through an organic, market-driven process,” CTA told members of the Media Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology in Tuesday meetings, said an ex parte notice filed Thursday, and posted Friday in docket 16-142. The petition asking the commission to allow broadcasters to transmit using ATSC 3.0's physical layer "was filed over a year ago," in April 2016 (see 1604130065), “but industry still does not have the certainty needed to move forward,” CTA said. The South Korean transition to ATSC 3.0 is “driving industry” to deploy TVs with dual ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 tuners, and “the current prevalence of smart TVs will smooth the consumer transition to ATSC 3.0,” it said. ATSC, CTA and other standards organizations “are working in parallel to develop standards and best practices for the transmission standard ATSC 3.0 that will continue to allow industry to meet its legal and regulatory obligations, including those related to accessibility,” it said. CTA would like "for the FCC to issue its Order soon" on ATSC 3.0's final rules, said Julie Kearney, vice president-regulatory affairs, Friday when asked what sort of certainty CTA seeks from the commission. "We know that it hopes to, but we really want it issued," Kearney said of the order. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in February he hoped to have the order authorizing ATSC 3.0 as a final voluntary standard by year-end, while Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said authorization of the final standard could occur “hopefully by Halloween" (see 1702230060).