Broadcasters, Public Safety Disagree on Need for New Look at Sharing TV Band

NAB raised concerns and the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council supported a Land Mobile Communications Council petition asking the FCC to modify its Part 90 rules on sharing of TV channels 14-20 with the T-band to reflect the changes that have occurred due to the DTV transition. Comments were posted Thursday in RM-11915. The T-band is shared with public safety and gets the most use in major cities, including Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Washington, D.C. “The changes LMCC proposes could have the practical effect of increasing instances of harmful interference between television stations and land mobile operations in the T-band by allowing television stations and land mobile operations to operate in closer proximity to one another,” NAB said. It noted “occasional complaints concerning interference issues between television stations and T-band land mobile operators under the existing rules, including from LMCC itself.” NPSTC said “time is ripe” to update the rules. “The Commission is fortunate that the LMCC has done so much of the work required to initiate the rulemaking proceeding it has requested,” NPSTC said: “The LMCC petition is comprehensive and includes the background leading to the request, specific recommended changes to the rules, and the rationale for the recommendations provided. The petition even provides a succinct summary on the history of the T-Band spectrum sharing that began in the 1970s. This summary should be helpful as well in crafting the NPRM.” Los Angeles County noted the rules were last updated in the 1990s. “Experience gained from (1) combating interference from DTV operations (new since original rules were adopted), (2) the transition of some [land-mobile radio] systems from analog to digital (which is a continuing process), and (3) the lack of vacant channel options due to channel repacking -- all mandate that the Commission revisit equipment performance assumptions made over two decades ago,” the county said. Issue an NPRM “at the earliest opportunity,” urged the Enterprise Wireless Alliance: T-Band applicants “must comply with a rule that protects television station contours as though they still were operating in NTSC [National Television System Committee] format even though they are required to operate in ATSC [Advanced Television Systems Committee] format. In the interim, television stations are receiving greater than necessary protection while, conversely, affected land mobile systems are not able to derive maximum use of T-Band spectrum.”