FCC Should Revisit ATSC 3.0 Sunset, Says NCTA

The FCC should revisit the “arbitrary” five-year sunset of the requirement ATSC 3.0 broadcasts and 1.0 simulcasts be “substantially similar,” said NCTA in a meeting Wednesday with Media Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology staff, per a filing posted in docket 16-142 Monday. The substantially similar requirement and the use of the A/322 standard should be maintained “until the ATSC 3.0 marketplace is sufficiently developed,” NCTA said. The FCC should also monitor the effects of the transition on cable operators, the group said. “Allowing temporary vacant channel use instead of sharing currently used broadcast channels could impose new and unreimbursed costs on cable operators, such as costs for acquiring new receiving equipment.”