Monty Tayloe

This week's swift resolution to the forward auction phase of Stage 2 of the incentive auction (see 1610190059) is seen as a sign that wireless bidders are keeping their powder dry for later stages, when the supply is more in line with their demand, industry lawyers following the incentive auction told us Thursday. Other auction watchers and analysts believe the swift end indicates a lack of wireless demand, and may indicate one of the larger wireless bidders decided not to buy the 600 MHz spectrum, they said. Some believe the quick end of the forward auction makes a fourth stage, with a clearing target of 84 MHz, increasingly likely. The single-day forward auction “further increased the odds that Stage 3 of the auction, which we expect to commence toward the end of October or early November, will be followed by a fourth stage as well,” PwC analyst Dan Hays said in an email to investors.

FCC repacking plans may not provide enough time or money for broadcasters to move, said several panelists at a conference on the repacking Wednesday, the same day that the forward auction phase of Stage 2 of the incentive auction both began and ended. The forward auction proceeds in the single round were $20.95 billion, short of the $56 billion closing cost. NAB said it was “surprised” at the results of the wireless bidding, in a statement. But Incentive Auction Task Force Deputy Chairwoman Jean Kiddoo said the auction was continuing "to work as designed," during her keynote kicking off the Destination Repack conference, organized by Wiley Rein and the Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers (AFCCE) .

Though FCC officials say negotiation on the set-top box draft order is ongoing, some industry officials following the proceeding told us they believe the item could be indefinitely stalled if Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel chooses not to vote. The precursor proceeding to the current set-top plan, AllVid, stalled on circulation (see 1108100074), and that could happen to the current plan, industry officials told us. The set-top item remains on circulation, and has received a vote from Chairman Tom Wheeler, an FCC spokeswoman told us.

Most FCC employees have a positive view of their workplace, but don't feel they have sufficient resources or that steps are taken to deal with poor performers, said the 2016 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) by the Office of Personnel Management. The survey, released by the commission Friday, was administered to the whole federal government from April 26 to June 14. Six-hundred forty-eight of 1,552 FCC employees surveyed participated, and most agreed or strongly agreed with statements such as “The work I do is important,” and “I like the kind of work I do.” Government-wide, 83 percent of employees said they liked the work they do, while at the FCC, 80 percent said so. Twenty-two percent of FCC employees said they agree pay raises at the commission correlate to performance, and 28 percent said they agree the FCC takes steps to deal with poor performers, but those numbers are consistent with the government-wide results, wherein 22 percent said raises are based on performance, and 29 percent said poor performers are dealt with. The survey shows FCC employees have some concerns with senior management: Forty-three percent said senior leaders “generate high levels of motivation and commitment in the workforce” and 44 percent said they were satisfied with the policies of senior leaders. Government-wide, 42 percent said they were satisfied with their leaders' policies, and 40 percent said their leaders motivated them. Seventy-seven percent of FCC employees said their supervisors were doing a good job, vs. 70 percent government-wide. Sixty-nine percent of FCC employees said the commission is accomplishing its mission successfully, while the government-wide response was 74 percent. The National Treasury Employees Union, which represented some FCC staff, and OPM didn't comment.

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai's proposal to create a new class of FM stations would create “winners and losers” and could exceed FCC authority, Media Bureau Chief Peter Doyle said during a panel at a National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters' conference. He and Nexstar CEO Perry Sook spoke about AM revitalization, the incentive auction and what legislation may come out of a lame-duck Congress. NABOB heard a day earlier that technology is bringing changes to radio (see 1610120069).

Radio broadcasters need to adapt their businesses to keep pace with technological change, speakers on numerous panels said Wednesday at the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters' Fall Broadcast Management Conference. The increased competition in media, rise of online advertising and the shift toward measuring viewership through portable people meters (PPM) has changed the way stations now need to operate in order to remain viable, said Tony Gray, CEO of Gray Communications. The current climate has reduced the importance of radio personalities in generating an audience, Gray said. "This is the reality of the industry," he said.

While the FCC broadcast incentive auction lasting into multiple stages would appear to give supporters of ATSC 3.0 more time to finish their standard and secure regulatory approval before the repacking, boosters for the new standard told us they don't see it that way. “I don't see more time as a positive or negative for the standard's adoption,” said Sinclair Vice President-Advanced Technology Mark Aitken, an advocate for the new standard. “I don't think it helps anybody for things to go slowly,” said ATSC President Mark Richer. “It was never a concern that anybody would be waiting on ATSC 3.0.” ATSC recently announced the completion of some additional layers for the new standard (see 1610050056).

The FCC released its first-ever white paper on cognitive disabilities and possible accessibility and technology solutions, Chairman Tom Wheeler said in remarks at a Coleman Institute conference on cognitive disabilities and technology Thursday in Broomfield, Colorado. “We’re not where we need to be when it comes to making sure accessibility issues are a first thought, not an afterthought.” In the white paper, the commission said a lack of outreach to those with cognitive disabilities is a major barrier to their use of technology, along with economic barriers and a dearth of accessible tech. “The perceived complexity of many communications devices may deter their acquisition,” it said. “Consumers and their caregivers may simply assume that a technology cannot be made accessible to them, even when a device has features to address the consumers' accessibility needs.” Communications tools that can help those with cognitive disabilities are “being underutilized because people either don’t know they are available or know how to access them,” Wheeler said. The FCC Disability Advisory Committee’s Sept. 22 approval of a set of industry-supported best practices designed to ensure the needs of those with cognitive disabilities are included in development of communications technology is “groundbreaking and inspiring,” Wheeler said. The practices are consistent with Coleman Institute’s own Declaration of Principles: Rights of People with Cognitive Disabilities to Technology and Information Access, Wheeler said, saying he's now a signatory to the declaration. Under the best practices, companies are encouraged to develop “collaborative relationships” with people with cognitive disabilities and related organizations, and to “keep abreast” of their needs. The practices encourage companies to include those with cognitive disabilities in their development process, and to make it easier for their products to be customized to suit individual needs, Wheeler said. He cited recent guidance from the FCC on how TV stations can make their alerts accessible to those with cognitive disabilities (see 1609300060). Despite such efforts, there's a danger that outreach efforts to those with cognitive disabilities could get worse as technology advances, Wheeler said. “We need to make sure that new barriers are not created through complex display menus and user guides, complicated security and navigation features, and software upgrades that may be well-intentioned, but which often create obstacles for individuals with disabilities,” Wheeler said. “The Commission has rules in place assuring that advanced communications services and equipment are accessible, and we will enforce those rules.” Policymakers should encourage industry representatives to “do their part to raise awareness among their designers, developers, service personnel and customer representatives about the needs of people with cognitive disabilities and their support networks,” Wheeler said. Those with cognitive disabilities also need jobs, he said, noting an FCC program that has led to six employees with intellectual disabilities. The program “has helped everyone at the FCC,” Wheeler said. “Work is getting done -- and well. Training is ongoing. Promotions are occurring. And new relationships and sensitivities have developed.”

The proposed repacking plan released last week by the Incentive Auction Task Force is a reasonable beginning but is likely to require tweaking, broadcast attorneys and engineers told us in interviews Tuesday. “This is a starting point in a negotiation,” said Meintel Sgrignoli broadcast engineer Dennis Wallace of the public notice. The phased system, consumer education, and the rigid timelines of the plan (see 1609300071) are all likely to be the focus of broadcaster comments on the plan, industry officials told us. With the auction ongoing and the final clearing target unknown, it's extremely difficult to gauge the merits of the FCC plan, Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Peter Tannenwald told us. “There are too many variables,” Tannenwald said.

Internal voting rules mean it’s likely to be at least several weeks before the FCC approves the set-top draft order unexpectedly pulled from Thursday’s meeting (see 1609290076), said former and current FCC officials in interviews Monday. That’s several weeks that entities won’t be able to lobby the commission on the item because it remains restricted under sunshine rules after being pulled, which a coalition of civil rights leaders called “highly unusual” in a petition filed Sunday and in an accompanying news release. The petition asks Chairman Tom Wheeler to release the text of the draft order and allow the public to comment. Wheeler’s decision to “impose rules that silence our voices, while decisions impacting our community are settled behind closed doors, is unacceptable,” said National Urban League CEO Marc Morial. “The FCC must unlock the plan and allow for meaningful feedback.”