Monty Tayloe

Wireless mics will be able to use new bands and share spectrum in the TV band, said a Wednesday FCC order issued with the support of four members and a partial dissent by Commissioner Mike O'Rielly. The order, which was deleted from Thursday's meeting agenda, allows all licensed users in the TV band to use the reserved 4 MHz in the duplex gap and allows wireless mics to operate in TV bands even within the contours of TV stations as long as the TV signals are at a low enough threshold, an FCC release said. The order also allows wireless mics to operate in portions of the 900 MHz band, the 6875-7125 MHz band and the 1435-1525 MHz band at specified times and places, coordinated with aeronautical mobile telemetry, the release said.

With a Sept. 4 congressional deadline, the FCC Downloadable Security Technical Advisory Committee has focused on two proposals for technology neutral downloadable security, but remains far from unified, it was revealed at DSTAC's meeting Tuesday. DSTAC efforts coalesced around two rival plans: a pay TV-backed proposal that would use security based on HTML 5 and downloadable apps, and a “virtual head end” system based on link protection backed by members of the Consumer Video Choice Coalition, which includes Public Knowledge and TiVo. The DSTAC doesn't have to choose a winner between the two systems -- its final report will contain both proposals, Chairwoman Cheryl Tritt said. A final draft of the report outlining the proposals will be produced for a vote at the DSTAC's final meeting Aug. 28. The working group reports that will form the basis of the DSTAC's final product are available on the DSTAC homepage.

The Telecommunications Industry Association is increasing lobbying and outreach efforts as it adds major new members, said industry officials in interviews Monday. That lobbying and outreach is meant to keep ahead of industry convergence and “the IP revolution," CEO Scott Belcher said. AT&T and Comcast were announced as among new TIA members. Belcher pointed to the companies' membership as a sign that TIA’s new focus on being vocal is paying dividends.

The comment periods for the FCC’s proposal to preserve a vacant channel in the incentive auction for unlicensed use and wireless microphones were indefinitely suspended, the Media Bureau said in an order Wednesday. The delay followed requests for a three-week extension by both NAB and the LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition. Instead of three weeks, the Media Bureau order announced a “brief suspension” of undefined length, intended to allow the parties to file comments after the FCC enacts the upcoming Auction Procedures public notice, which could include plans to repack TV stations in the duplex gap. “The Commission’s decision on final auction procedures may impact the availability of television channels for use by such devices in certain areas,” the order said. The delay also will allow the FCC to determine new comment deadlines, the order said.

AT&T's decision that 2016 and future specifications for Android smartphones will include activated FM chips is a boon to radio broadcasters, said NAB and broadcast attorneys Tuesday. AT&T's agreement to activate the chips is “a tipping point” in the effort to get the chips activated in all smart phones, Emmis Communications CEO Jeff Smulyan said. Emmis and NAB are behind NextRadio, an app designed to take advantage of activated FM chips by allowing smartphones to display interactive content and targeted ads that are tied to broadcast radio content. AT&T's move to activate the chips “marks a new beginning in mobile technology,” NAB President Gordon Smith said in a statement.

Broadcasters planning to take advantage of the capabilities of the upcoming ATSC 3.0 technological shift to lease spectrum to wireless carriers would be better served by participating in the TV incentive auction, said Incentive Auction Task Force Vice Chairman Howard Symons during a webinar Thursday. Largely about the incentive auction, the webinar, hosted by Broadcasting and Cable, also touched on the new broadcast standard and repacking.

A judge’s ruling that streaming TV service FilmOn is eligible for a compulsory copyright license could potentially lead to a circuit split and an eventual cert petition to the Supreme Court, attorneys told us Friday.

An FCC rulemaking on reserving TV spectrum for white spaces use unified disparate broadcast interests in opposition to it, said officials at the LPTV Spectrum Rights Coalition, NAB and National Translator Association in interviews. Coalition Director Mike Gravino, who in recent weeks filed an unsuccessful complaint with the FCC against NAB (see 1506050059) and had recently told us the association wasn't looking out for LPTV interests, said his previous stance no longer applies as of the FCC issuing its NPRM Tuesday. The proposed rule is “a seismic shift” that threatens all licensees who value their spectrum, he said, promising to work with NAB to oppose the proposed rule. “If they're able to do this to primary licensees, they can do it to anyone,” Gravino said. “It's completely unlawful,” said NAB General Counsel Rick Kaplan.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit utterly rejected all arguments by NAB and Sinclair Broadcast in their petitions against the FCC's Incentive Auction Report and Order, in an opinion written by Judge Sri Srinivasan and issued Friday.

Older, sector-specific laws such as those regulating health and financial information are good for protecting consumer data that stays in those respective silos, but the modern era of ubiquitous data collection means that no longer happens, said FTC Commissioner Julie Brill on a panel at the Techonomy Policy Conference Tuesday.