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FCC ADOPTS WIRELESS BACKHAUL REFORMS NEW RULES AFFECT TV
BROADCASTERS IN TWO WAYS
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As part of its continuing
effort to promote broadband deployment in the U.S., the Federal
Communications Commission has revised its rules governing the licensing and operation
of wireless microwave links – an increasingly important form of “backhaul”
used to transmit data between cell sites or between cell sites and
communication networks. While
primarily intended to provide wireless fixed service (“FS”) operators with
greater backhaul capacity, the Commission’s actions also directly affect
television broadcasters in two ways. Limited Fixed Service
Operations Now Permitted in Broadcast Auxiliary Service Frequencies First, the Commission
authorized FS operators to share the 7 and 13 GHz frequency bands
currently assigned to the Broadcast Auxiliary Service (“BAS”) in areas where
there are no previously licensed co-channel TV pickup authorizations. TV pickups are mobile or temporarily located
BAS stations (for example, electronic news gathering trucks transmitting
breaking news stories or other live events) which, because of their non-fixed
nature, makes sharing with FS operations infeasible. By not allowing FS operations within the
service areas of licensed TV pickups, the Commission sought to protect
“important electronic newsgathering functions.” To accommodate TV pickups covering events
that occur outside licensed areas of local BAS operations, the Commission
also excluded FS operations from four 25 MHz channels in the 7 and
13 GHz bands nationwide. In contrast to its
incompatibility with mobile BAS stations, FS operations can share spectrum
with non-mobile BAS stations, and thus the Commission will permit FS stations
to operate in the BAS frequency bands in areas where no mobile TV pickups are
licensed. The Commission estimates
that shared FS and BAS operations will be possible in largely rural areas
covering more than half of the nation’s land mass but only about
10 percent of the nation’s population. To help protect your
licensed TV pickups from FS operations, we recommend that you confirm that
the FCC’s Universal Licensing System (“ULS”) includes each of your authorized
facilities and that the operational information for each facility is
accurately reflected in the ULS database. “Final Link” Rule
Eliminated Second, the Commission
eliminated the “final link” rule that prohibits broadcasters from using FS
stations as the final radiofrequency link in the distribution chain of
programming to broadcast stations. The
Commission concluded that the rule no longer served any useful purpose as
broadcasters continue to migrate to digital technologies. In addition, eliminating the rule will save
broadcasters from having to build one system to carry programming to the
transmitter site and a separate, largely redundant, system to handle other
data. * * * The new rules will take
effect 30 days after their publication in the Federal Register. We will advise you when that occurs. In the meantime, should you have any
questions regarding the Commission’s decision, please contact any attorney in
our office. August 22, 2011 |
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This memorandum is intended only as a general discussion of these issues and should not be regarded as legal advice. We would be pleased to provide additional details or advice about specific situations if desired. Copyright © 2011, Lerman Senter PLLC 2000 K Street NW,
Suite 600 | Washington, DC 20006-1809 To Unsubscribe: Unsubscribe | To Update Client Info: Update Client Info |
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