MSTV and NAB have submitted reply comments opposing the request by the Nuclear Energy Institute and the United Telecom Council for a blanket, industrywide waiver that would allow nuclear power plants to use Telex intercom headsets on Part 74 frequencies reserved for TV broadcasting and broadcast auxiliary licensees.
MSTV and NAB stated that comments filed in support of the waiver request offered no new justification to support it, concluding that, "In light of that lack of evidence, and the risk of harm that granting the waiver would cause to the public's free, over-the-air television service, MSTV and NAB request that the commission uphold the integrity of its spectrum allocation rules and deny the waiver request."
The organizations added that numerous commercially available wireless systems can provide the same functionality as the Telex equipment, but operate in spectrum authorized for nuclear power plants, without need for waivers. An example is the Communications-Applied Technology Intrinsically Safe Wireless Intercom System, which has an established record of safety, performance, durability and dependability in nuclear power facility applications. It allows hands-free operation and uses digital encryption and channel hopping to ensure secure and reliable communications over 500 feet -- potentially more with linked base stations. The system operates under Part 90 of the FCC rules.
In response to claims that the Telex system provides unique features, MSTV/NAB pointed out that the NEI/UTC petition, and letters filed in support of it, suffered the same shortcomings as a previously filed waiver request denied by the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and that there was no evidence that Part 90 equipment would not safely satisfy the communications requirements. It was also argued that there was no new basis for the Office of Engineering and Technology to grant an identical second waiver request.
SBE commented earlier that despite the coordination requirement under the nuclear power plant industry's existing "experimental" Special Temporary Authority, most plants have never contacted SBE to initiate coordination. In one case, the plant did contact SBE, but the operator later abandoned coordination.
MSTV/NAB also opposed comments from New America Foundation recommending that the proceeding should be used to allow more unlicensed devices in the TV broadcast spectrum. The groups disagreed with the NAF premise that the commission should not just waive Part 74 for nuclear plants, but that the FCC should, "...should open the floodgates to millions of devices without any enforceable interference mitigation mechanism." The groups noted that they had previously provided extensive technical, economic, legal and policy data countering the NAF proposal.
For more details on these arguments, read the Joint Reply Comments of the Association for Maximum Service Television Inc. and the National Association of Broadcasters.
