The FCC has released an agenda for the Sept. 30 Open Commission Meeting. Several items on the agenda will be of interest to broadcasters.
Among them is a “Declaratory Ruling that clarifies that the commission intends to make all reasonable efforts to preserve both the 'coverage area' and 'population served' of eligible broadcast television stations in the repacking process associated with the Incentive Auction.” Perhaps this is a response to National Association of Broadcasters petition challenging the TVStudy methodology.
The commission will also consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to revise rules for unlicensed operations in the TV bands and the new 600 MHz band, including fixed and personal/portable white space devices and unlicensed microphones. The agenda states, “The proposed changes and new rules are intended to allow more robust and spectrally efficient unlicensed operations without increasing the risk of harmful interference to other users.” Another Notice of Proposed Rulemaking under consideration will “address the needs of wireless microphone users, while recognizing that they must share spectrum with other wireless uses in an increasingly crowded spectral environment.”
The meeting will commence at 10:30 AM on Sept. 30 and will be available on-line at www.fcc.gov/live. Refer to Public Notice – FCC to hold open Commission meeting Tuesday, September 30, 2014 for the complete agenda and information on attending the meeting in person.
