7 minute read
POLICY
By John Eggerton john.eggerton@futurenet.com @eggerton T he FCC is getting pressure to free up the entire 1,200 megahertz of the 6 MHz band for WiFi, as broadcasters wave caution flags over potential interference to their signals should a sharing regime be instituted.
A continued call for all of the spectrum that stations now use for electronic newsgathering (ENG) came in a letter to the FCC from some of the biggest in Big Tech — Apple, Facebook, Google — as well as from consumer and free-market advocacy groups.
That was followed closely by a letter from a bipartisan pair of legislators calling for the same approach, including one whose Northern California district skirts Silicon Valley. Broadcasters use the 6-MHz band for broadcast auxilliary services (BAS) operations such as sporting events, breaking news and special events. They said the FCC's proposed interference protections — limited to lower-power, indoor operations — miss the mark, particularly as some camera transmitters used to relay footage to stations also operate indoors and at low power, so they would be in the interference line of fire even with those limitations on unlicensed devices. Broadcasters have had to fight for ENG before as the FCC trolled for spectrum. They don't want the agency to allow full use of the band without assurances — and not simply from the computer companies or cable operators hungrily eyeing the spectrum — that new uses won’t interfere with existing operations.
Cable operators, who are looking for more WiFi spectrum, agree with the computer companies that there is a way to share and share alike.
The FCC on a mission to free up as much spectrum for 5G as possible (a Trump administration priority), including allowing shared use wherever it is feasible.
While some have argued for moving incumbents to a different band entirely, Apple and others have said that process could take a decade. Besides, sharing will work without jeopardizing incumbent service, tech companies told the FCC: "If the commission wants to bring more mid-band spectrum into use for next-generation wireless in the near term, while preventing disruption and interference to incumbents, the clear answer is to make 6 GHz available for shared unlicensed use." Lawmakers Join Push
In their letter, Reps. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.) and H. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) asked the FCC to free up the entire band ASAP. "We believe the 6-GHz band's greatest potential would be realized by unlocking all 1200 MHz of the band for unlicensed use,” they wrote. “This would foster innovation and greatly benefit American consumers and our nation's economy." The legislators said they agree that protecting incumbents is crucial, but also argue that WiFi has a track record of successful sharing and this should be no different, given the FCC's expertise in protecting licensed users from interference.
The FCC voted unanimously back in October 2018 to propose opening up the band to unlicensed devices — everything from laptops to Fitbits to offloading wireless traffic — using automatic frequency control (AFC) devices to prevent interference with licensed users.
All the commissioners pointed to the need to relieve congestion in the wireless band, including under the direction of Congress in the MOBILE NOW Act, which charged the FCC with finding more spectrum for 5G.
The FCC is expected soon to vote on making that proposal a reality. But not if broadcasters have anything to do with it.
The National Association of Broadcasters argues the proponents of sharing in the band "assume away" the challenges of protecting those BAS operations. The trade group told the FCC earlier this month that hundreds of MHz can be opened for WiFi and broadcasters are willing to work with the government and stakeholders on a solution to sharing. But nothing the computer companies have so far come up with fills the bill.
"[T]he WiFi uses under consideration in this proceeding are simply incompatible with mobile broadcast operations used for electronic newsgathering — and no proposal advanced by any party to date will protect those mobile operations," NAB says.
If those do ever materialize, the NAB said, the FCC can consider them then, and in a separate proceeding. ● Tech companies and cable operators have their eyes on spectrum in the 6 MHz band that TV stations now use to relay electronic newsgathering (ENG) signals from crews and trucks in the field. TRUMP BUDGET DOUBLES AI INVESTMENT President Donald Trump's 2021 budget may be looking to cut money for noncommercial and international media, but it doubles the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) budget for the development of artificial intelligence and quantum computing and makes other investments in a high-tech future. The budget proposes investing $2 billion in AI and another $860 million on quantum science over the next two years. The National Institute of Science and Technology will get $718 million as part of the mission to make sure the U.S. leads in quantum computing and AI, including the interoperability of AI-enabled systems. The budget, which Congress must approve, would also create an "advanced manufacturing institute" to ensure that tech innovations developed here are manufactured here, another Trump priority. In addition, the National Telecommunications & Information Administration, the president’s chief spectrum policy adviser, would get $25 million toward spectrum management systems to “more efficiently" free up added spectrum for 5G wireless service. The NTIA oversees government spectrum users. — JE Big Tech, Broadcast Battle Over 6 MHz Commission is looking to free up more spectrum for 5G
People
Notable executives on the move
Avid in Burlington, Massachusetts, has promoted Kathy-Anne McManus to chief customer experience officer. She had been senior VP, global customer solutions and services for the media platform vendor.
BRIGHTCOVE
COMCAST VENTURES
Boston-based provider of cloud services for video Brightcove has tapped Amee Desjourdy as chief people officer. She comes from biotech firm Quanterix, where she was chief people and culture officer.
Former NBA player Andre Iguodala has joined the Comcast Ventures Capitalist Fund as a venture partner. He will focus investments in companies founded by African-American, Latinx and women entrepreneurs.
ENGINE
Media and marketing services company Engine has tapped Scott Schiller as global chief commercial officer. He comes from NBCUniversal, where he was executive VP, advertising and client partnerships.
PEBBLE BEACH
Automation and content management firm Pebble Beach Systems has upped Mat Shell to head of sales. A veteran of Imagine Communications, Grass Valley and Tektronix, Shell had been solutions and proposals manager.
FITE
Digital combat sports platform Fite has hired Ben Halabi as senior vice president, international business development. He had been head of ITV Box Office, the pay-per-view service of U.K. television network ITV.
FOX
Fox has named Allison Wallach executive VP and head of Fox Alternative Entertainment, a new post at the company’s unscripted content studio. She had been president of Jupiter Entertainment.
SCENARIO
Jennifer Reed was named executive VP of the new Television & Entertainment Division at publicity firm Scenario Communications in Los Angeles. She comes from BWR, where she was senior VP of television.
TELESTREAM
Westwood, Massachusettsbased Telestream has tapped Benjamin Desbois as senior VP and chief sales officer. He comes from Avid Technologies, where he led U.S. sales after four years in sales management in Europe.
THE CW
Betty Ellen Berlamino has joined The CW as executive VP, distribution. She joins the Viacom-CBS/AT&T joint venture from CBS Television Stations, where she had been senior VP, director of sales.
FUTURE TODAY
David Di Lorenzo has joined Miami-based advertising video-on-demand platform Future Today as senior VP and head of the Kids & Family business. He had been president of Kabillion.
VIZIO
Adam Bergman has joined smart TV maker Vizio as vice president of ad sales, based in Los Angeles and tasked with building relationships with media buyers and marketers. He led the West Coast client partnerships team at Samba TV.
BRIEFLY NOTED Other industry execs making moves
Digital media and marketing trade group IAB in New York has named Hearst Magazines president Troy Young as chairman of its board of directors. … Steven Zenker has joined Sinclair Broadcast Group as VP of investor relations. He comes from General Garden & Pet Co., where he was VP of investor relations, FP&A and corporate communications. … ABC affiliate WPLG Miami has named Layron Livingston as co-anchor of its weekend morning newscasts. Livingston has been a reporter and consumer advocate at WPLG since 2016. … Also at Pebble Beach Systems, Roger Sewell was named VP of sales for Central and Eastern Europe and Central Africa. He worked at such companies as Pixel Power, Pro-Bel, Miranda and Omnibus. … Scenario Communications also tapped Molly Kukla as account director in the Television & Entertainment Division. She was director of television publicity at BWR. … Programmatic OTT platform ZypMedia has named Tushar Patel as senior VP of Engineering and Sridhar Guthula as senior VP of product management. Patel had been an executive VP at IPG Mediabrands; Guthula was CEO of WelcomeTV.
