Clarity Wants Order on TV at Truck Stops Revisited
Clarity Media asked the FCC to overturn a Media Bureau decision barring it from offering short-range, low-power TV in the 2025-2110 MHz band at Flying J truck stops nationwide. In a petition for reconsideration, Clarity called the Bureau’s may application denial “unbalanced and spectacularly flawed.” Attorneys for Clarity told us the service is a model for spectrum efficiency, operating at power levels below 0.5 w.
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Broadcasters opposed the waiver, citing interference harmful to broadcast auxiliary service used for electronic TV news gathering. But Clarity says giving drivers access to TV including public service announcements at truck stops confers safety benefits that the FCC should consider. The company cited 17 public interest benefits in the petition.
The company’s main argument is that without Clarity the nation’s 2.5 million long-haul truck drivers would have no access to TV for periods during which federal rules require they park and rest. If drivers were happier, their jobs wouldn’t turn over so often, Clarity said: “It is undisputed, therefore, that recruitment, retention, and training of qualified professional long-haul drivers are vital to safety of life and property on the roads.”
Stephen Baruch, an attorney for Clarity, said drivers visiting truck stops have access to the Internet, food, showers and many other services, but not TV. Clarity would offer local programming, plus an educational channel, one carrying weather reports and other news for truckers and a public safety, public service announcement channel.