New America Critical of ATSC 3.0 Drafts on Broadcast Ownership and Datacasting

The draft declaratory ruling and NPRM on not applying broadcast ownership rules to ATSC 3.0 datacasting should seek comment on whether a broadcast stream in standard definition satisfies FCC minimum requirements for TV stations, said the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute. It's filing posted in docket 20-145 Monday. OTI spoke with aides to Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks. OTI broadly supported the drafts, saying the NPRM should also gather information on increasing the fee for broadcasters providing ancillary services such as datacasting: “A better question would be whether the fee should be substantially higher than 5 percent given the enormous potential value of TV spectrum.” Questions in the draft NPRM about setting that fee to zero don’t seem to jibe with congressional intent, OTI said. The proceeding’s use of the term “Broadcast Internet” is misleading, the group said. “Nothing in the NPRM seems oriented to encouraging broadcast station licensees to use their spectrum to broadcast new services -- ATSC 3.0 or otherwise -- but instead seems oriented to pave the way for them to aggregate and lease out their spectrum.”