FCC OKs ATSC 3.0 Datacasting Item, Over Some Concern About Name

FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly voted to approve a declaratory ruling and accompanying NPRM in docket 20-145 on ATSC 3.0 with the rest of the commission Tuesday but was critical of several aspects of the rulemaking. The final items are expected to be little changed from their draft versions. “I do question whether this is the best use of our resources,” said O’Rielly. “We probably could have lived without the effort to artificially rebrand the nonbroadcast, datacasting services with the questionable term ‘Broadcast Internet.’” The declaratory ruling proceeding was led by O’Rielly’s fellow commission Republican, Brendan Carr. O’Rielly said during a post-meeting news conference his comments weren’t directed at Carr. Carr repeatedly advocated for the term “broadcast internet,” to be applied to ATSC 3.0 datacasting, which he said in a post-meeting news conference should be differentiated from NextGen TV offerings. The item clarifies the rules for broadcasters using their spectrum for wireless capacity, Carr said. “ATSC 3.0 is the technology that will allow broadcast spectrum to play an even greater role in this converged market for connectivity.” Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel expressed concern about 3.0’s lack of backward compatibility and its suitability for applications such as telehealth, nonetheless lauded the proceeding as “responsibly” exploring “legal and technical issues that stand in the way of this standard’s further development.”