Tech, Bureaucratic Concerns Mean ATSC 3.0's Effective Date Changes Little

Though Monday was the effective date of the ATSC 3.0 order, that milestone will have little practical effect because the technology that would let stations use the new standard is largely unavailable and the portions of the order that govern outlets’ transition to 3.0 are still being approved by the Office of Management and the Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act, said broadcasters, attorneys and FCC officials.

Because of the need for OMB approval, 3.0 test programs in Dallas, Phoenix and elsewhere may need waivers to proceed, FCC and broadcast officials told us. The Media Bureau is working with the test stations to find a solution, a bureau spokeswoman said. Broadcasters are cooperating with the FCC to “move forward,” said Pearl TV consortium Managing Director Anne Schelle. “The paperwork will catch up.” Pearl TV is testing 3.0 in Phoenix (see 1801170053).

Even when the portions of the rules for simulcasting take effect, the FCC will need to make “systems changes” before it can process requests to move to 3.0, Media Bureau Chief Michelle Carey said at a public TV conference last week (see 1802270039). The agency will need to amend its forms to deal with lighthouse stations, which will “take time,” she said. Carey said the bureau will work on an interim solution with broadcasters looking to test 3.0. Schelle said the paperwork aspects won’t affect progress, since 2018 is an “implementation year” in which broadcasters are working to learn how they will use the new standard.

Low-power TV broadcasters won’t be required to simulcast but will need to file a form to change over to 3.0, and that portion of the rules is still being reviewed by OMB, a Media Bureau spokeswoman said. Many LPTV broadcasters are eager to make the jump to the new standard but face technological and bureaucratic barriers, said LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition Director Mike Gravino. Receivers for 3.0 transmissions aren’t available, so there’s no one to watch a 3.0 broadcast, said Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Peter Tannenwald. “They’re not gonna do it just for funsies,” he said of broadcasters.

The transmission side also faces technological issues, said LPTV broadcaster Gregory Herman, WatchTV president. He said though some of the sorts of components required to transmit 3.0 are being manufactured in South Korea, the types available aren't well suited to the uses planned for the new standard in the U.S. The Korean broadcast industry is largely focused on Ultra-HD, while U.S. broadcasters want to take advantage of ATSC 3.0’s non-video uses as well, Herman said. This means even if broadcasters were able and to transition today, they likely wouldn’t have technical capabilities to do so, Gravino said. That could change soon because the specification is “months, not years” from being ready, Herman said.