FCC Approves Channel 55 QUALCOMM Use Agreements

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published

QUALCOMM is continuing to expand its MediaFLO network, which uses TV channel 55. This week the FCC approved agreements with NEXSTAR Broadcasting, licensee of WHAG-DT on channel 55 in Hagerstown, Md., that will allow QUALCOMM to operate multiple sites in markets in New York state.

In the approval of the agreement for WPZA235 in New York, N.Y. the FCC allowed WHAG-DT to accept potential interference in the noise limited service contour of its construction permit. Another approved agreement allowed QUALCOMM’s WPZA235 system in Rochester-Syracuse, N.Y. to cause interference inside WHAG-DT’s authorized noise-limited contour.

In approving the agreements, the FCC cited the same benefits it cited when approving previous agreements, including offering local programming, core public interest group content such as breaking news and weather, and dissemination of emergency information to hand held devices.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung
Contributor

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack. A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.