Public TV Spectrum Could Bolster Homeland Security, Among Other Possible Uses

Military training, precision agriculture and immigration enforcement are among possible uses for datacasting using public TV spectrum and ATSC 3.0, America’s Public Television Stations’ summit heard Tuesday. FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly endorsed public TV’s focus on datacasting, in a speech. “You may just be on to something here,” he said. “Please keep me posted.”

O’Rielly urged public TV groups to comments about their datacasting in an upcoming 3.0 proceeding. He declined to specify which one. Media Bureau staff has suggested the agency may soon act on a petition on distributed transmission system and matters remaining from a 3.0 Further NPRM. O’Rielly also sought feedback on proposals in the kidvid proceeding to allow commercial stations to satisfy requirements by funding public TV content.

Using public TV spectrum to transmit information for commercial or government or national security uses -- examples given at the summit included software updates for farm equipment and military command systems -- falls “well within” the PBS public service mission, APTS CEO Patrick Butler said in an interview. Those sorts of uses are additional ways public TV stations can serve their communities and country, he said. Butler said speakers were “brainstorming” possible applications for public media spectrum.

“Data: the Ammunition of the Future Fight” read a graphic displayed by Army Lt. Gen. Bruce Crawford. The Army is increasingly focusing on “information warfare,” Crawford said. Commercial industries have surpassed Army capabilities to deliver information at speed, and the service is seeking private partners to improve its information transmission capabilities, said ex-Lt. Gen. Reynold Hoover.

There are “great opportunities” for using public TV spectrum to transmit information for DOD, said Hoover during another panel. In an interview, he compared PBS’ providing content to school classrooms to how it might help DOD -- by providing classroom information for training soldiers. Supporting the Pentagon “in the homeland, for homeland security applications” and helping to train troops to use military equipment is part of public TV's mandate for public safety, Hoover said.

The Department of Homeland Security could use public TV networks that are less vulnerable to hacking than emergency communications or GPS as alternatives, said SpectraRep Chief Operating Officer John McCoskey. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has capabilities and a requirement that could be applied to datacasting, Hoover said. Public TV spectrum could be used to transmit data to farm equipment or provide information about crop health, said Iowa Public Television General Manager and newly crowned APTS Chair Molly Phillips. Public TV has more infrastructure in rural areas dedicated to farming than 5G carriers are likely to deploy, panelists said. Precision ag has generated “considerable interest” at the FCC, O’Rielly said.

Some public TV broadcasters have expressed concern about the cost and “pain points” of shifting to 3.0, said WKAR-TV East Lansing, Michigan, General Manager Susi Elkins. WKAR launched Apollo, a platform that allows ATSC 1.0 broadcasters to test some 3.0 applications without transitioning. Datacasting proposals can help stations make the case to their boards for capital expenditure of upgrading to the next-generation standard, Phillips said.

Phillips said datacasting applications are within PBS stations’ purview: “As long as I can keep beautiful pictures and great content on air, what is left over or what I squeeze out to do another part for protecting Iowans or making their lives more efficient.”