Accusations Fly as FCC Enters White Spaces Home Stretch

Time is running out. The white spaces order is expected to go onto the FCC sunshine agenda Tuesday, whereupon neither side can make more filings or seek meetings on the matter. Other commissioners seem inclined to approve the order largely as Martin circulated it, FCC sources said. Further vexing efforts to lobby, most commissioners have spent this week on DTV-related or other travel.

Though unlikely, the vote could be delayed. The Nov. 4 agenda includes overhaul of intercarrier compensation and the Universal Service Fund and an order approving Verizon Wireless’ buy of Alltel, as an attorney active in the proceeding noted. FCC members may be reluctant to “spend political capital” on white spaces rather than those items, the lawyer said: “Everyone is buried over there and everyone has something they want out of those items. The chairman wants to do the white spaces. Who is going to spend political capital on [white spaces] to stop it?” But a broadcaster source said it’s “too early to tell” whether his side’s lobbying will have any effect.

Among recent lobbying efforts, Motorola CEO Greg Brown met Wednesday with Martin, encouraging him to move forward with the white-spaces order. “Over more than 4 years of debate the Commission has considered all aspects of the technology necessary to allow use of the TV White Space while fully protecting incumbents,” said a Motorola ex parte. “The time is right to provide a clear path for fixed and mobile broadband deployment using geolocation-enabled technology.”

Rick Whitt, Google Washington telecom and media counsel, warned on his blog about an emergency petition broadcasters filed last week asking the FCC to seek comment on the OET report. “This comes despite more than four years of study, months of extensive lab and field testing by the FCC, and tens of thousands of pages of formal record material -- during which the broadcasters’ concerns were fully considered,” Whitt said. “As we understand it, the draft order carefully and appropriately addresses all legitimate concerns about interference, and the resulting draft rules are, if anything, overly conservative. Nonetheless, the proposed framework overall appears to be sound, and we strongly support it.”

FCC members should seek comment on the OET report, the CEOs of News Corp., Disney, CBS and NBC Universal said in a letter. “[G]iven the sustained and repeated failure of sensing devices and technology reported by OET, it is hard to understand how the report supports a ‘proof of concept’ for sensing, and even harder to see how that ‘proof of concept’ constitutes the kind of solid scientific foundation the Commission normally requires before proceeding to adopt a rule allowing a new service.”

NAB and public interest groups traded barbs, with NAB saying Michael Calabrese, director of the foundation’s wireless future program, is “motivated by the goal of destroying television” or “just indifferent to the consequences” of the proposed rules. NAB cited Calabrese’s recent remarks at a California conference (CD Oct 22 p3). “After yesterday’s comments, it is now crystal-clear that the ‘new America’ Mr. Calabrese is working toward is one where free television is thrown by the wayside to make room for subscription-based services marketed and sold by his organization’s financial backers,” an NAB spokesman said.

Josh Silver, executive director of Free Press, accused NAB of trying to distract the FCC from the order before it by attacking public interest groups. “The FCC report is clear: White spaces technology won’t interfere with television signals,” Silver said. “Having lost on the facts, the NAB has resorted to angry ranting. This crucial decision should be based on science, not who can shout the loudest.”