FCC Releases Updated Broadcast Coverage Software
The FCC released the source code of and sought comments on an update to its broadcast TV interference analysis software that it will use to repack the TV band following the incentive spectrum auction. Broadcasters had been asking for the software, and can now begin kicking the tires on it. The program, called TVStudy, and the data needed to run it are at http://xrl.us/boezm9. The new software is an update to OET-69, the system the FCC used in the DTV transition, a public notice released Monday said (http://xrl.us/boezm9).
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The software was designed to improve accuracy and make use of newer computers compared to the OET-69 software, the public notice said. The software was developed on an iMac and the source code written in the Java and C programming languages, “but it is expected that the source code can be compiled on other Unix-like platforms,” the notice said
That is something consultants are beginning to figure out, they said. “There will be a lot of people who will have a fair bit of work to do to get it installed,” said Merrill Weiss, a technical consultant to broadcasters. “There’s a lot of infrastructure out there that is based on Unix and running the FCC’s current software. It’s unclear whether this new release is even going to run on those machines. It may be that people have to buy new machines."
OET-69 ran on Sun processors, and the TVStudy appears designed to work with newer Intel-based hardware, said Mike Rhodes, senior engineer with Cavell Mertz & Associates. The group is working on getting the software running, he said. “We've downloaded it, but there are a number of components to it,” he said. “It’s not something you can just load up into your computer and run,” he said. The choice of developing it on a iMac seemed odd too, he said. “Most engineers don’t use Macs, and I don’t know that the FCC has a lot of them either,” he said.
After engineers get the program running, they'll start comparing it to OET-69, Rhodes said. “We'll probably start with the clients we know might have issues, but I think we'll want to do some broad testing on the changes in general,” he said.
Comments on the software are due March 21, replies April 5. The public notice asked for feedback on several points, including general comments on the software. It also sought comment on specific areas such as the population data it uses, the terrain data it uses, how it treats inaccurate data already in FCC databases and other technical matters.
It’s important for the repacking process to use the most up-to-date and accurate information available, Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said of the public notice (http://xrl.us/boezot). “In order to preserve the integrity of the broadcast TV service on which the American consumers rely, we must get this process right.”