Auction: ‘Unprecedented Logistical Challenges, Require Careful Coordination’

With the start of the reverse auction just days away, the post-auction transition could be poised to begin in mere months and broadcasters could be getting a little jittery over spectrum and spectrum auctions. In a four-page letter to the FCC yesterday, the NAB pointed out “a successful broadcast spectrum incentive auction includes three key components: the reverse auction; the forward auction; and the transition of broadcasters into a reorganized band plan… Repacking broadcasters into a smaller portion of the UHF band after the close of the auction will present unprecedented logistical challenges and require careful coordination, as well as close cooperation with the broadcast industry. At a minimum, several hundred broadcast television stations will be moving to new channels, with finite resources. Further, the potential for interference within and between adjacent markets will mean in many cases that all stations in a market may need to complete their channel moves in a carefully coordinated fashion, and that delays for individual stations may have widespread implications.” Continue Reading