Regional Repacking Makes Sense, Symons Says
The FCC is considering a regional approach to the post-incentive auction repacking effort, said Incentive Auction Task Force Vice Chairman Howard Symons during a webinar on repacking hosted by Broadcasting & Cable Tuesday. Though the commission hasn’t reached a final decision on the repacking, Symons said repacking by region “probably makes the most sense,” compared with repacking the whole nation at once or by market.
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Any plan to repack broadcasters by region will be "undercut" by the FCC 39-month repacking deadline, since many stations will not be ready to move in time, said NAB Vice President-Spectrum Policy Patrick McFadden. It's “premature to be so negative” toward the 39-month deadline, Symons said. Even with regional repacking, there is likely to be “a resource problem” for broadcasters seeking tower crews and made-to-order equipment, said GatesAir Technology Advisor Jay Adrick. Careful coordination of tower crews could help ameliorate the crunch, consultant Merrill Weiss said. It's possible areas with denser populations could be repacked before more lightly populated areas, Symons said.
Though stations may be repacked in sections, that’s not how reimbursement funds will be doled out, Symons said. Since stations will submit cost estimates, he said that the FCC will allocate money to all affected stations as a whole -- no region would be reimbursed over another. If there isn’t enough money to cover all costs, stations nationwide would get a percentage of their costs reimbursed, said Symons. This strategy would “spread the pain” of a reimbursement shortfall, McFadden said. The commission is looking for a reimbursement coordinator to oversee the process, Symons said.
Broadcasters certain that they won’t sell all their spectrum in the auction can get a jump on planning now by studying the reimbursement documents, surveying their equipment and what channels it may work for, and mapping their towers, Symons said. But such auction preplanning would take place at broadcaster risk, because the commission hasn’t decided if the $1.75 billion reimbursement fund covers pre-auction planning expenditures. The commission may “have something to say about that in the near future,” Symons said. A station that doesn’t end up being moved wouldn't receive money, nor would any station if the auction doesn’t close, McFadden said.