Congress should oppose opening broadcast spectrum to portable unl...
Congress should oppose opening broadcast spectrum to portable unlicensed devices that would use the so-called “white spaces” in the broadcast spectrum, the National Association of Broadcasters and the Association for Maximum Service TV said Wednesday in a letter to…
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Congress (CD June 20 p6). Earlier, the White Spaces Coalition wrote to the members of Congress touting the merits of using white spaces. Unlicensed spectrum use poses a substantial risk of interference to broadcasts, the broadcast groups said, citing an FCC report. They noted that millions of U.S. households will rely on digital-to-analog converter boxes to get broadcasts over older TV sets, an arrangement that could be disrupted far more severely by interference than ordinary broadcasts. “FCC data indicates that digital television sets will be susceptible to interference from these devices in 80 to 87% of a typical television station’s service area,” the letter said: “Unlike an analog signal where interference will cause a gradual degradation of the picture, interference to a digital signal renders the television unwatchable. And the interference from unlicensed devices will not only affect television sets, but will also interfere with the digital-to-analog converter boxes that are necessary for the DTV transition to succeed.” Unlicensed devices would leave consumers defenseless, the groups said. “The FCC will have no record as to when or where such devices are operating,” the letter said: “Should interference occur, there is no way of determining if the interference is coming from a next door neighbor, a passing car or even within one’s own home.”