NAB, NCTA Praise Repacking Expense Catalog; GatesAir Cites Trump's Infrastructure Plan
Donald Trump, much on the minds of many watchers of net neutrality and other FCC proceedings (see 1611090034), even came up in comments on the incentive auction. A broadcast equipment maker cited the president-elect's infrastructure spending plan as reason for those affected by the post-auction repacking to buy American. Also Tuesday, telecom panelists debated how Trump's $1 trillion infrastructure plan will affect lobbying and legislation strategies (see 1611150038).
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GatesAir asked the commission to incentivize stations in the repacking to buy American. "Our President-Elect has made it a priority to promote new jobs in the U.S.," CEO Phil Argyris said. "This is an American initiative which will build American infrastructure." Comments were posted Tuesday in docket 16-306.
The FCC should adopt specific guidelines giving preference to U.S. manufacturers "in accordance with 1933 Buy American Act," GatesAir said. Once the repack begins, "many foreign competitors" will show up in the country, looking for opportunities, it said. "Most without any real installation base or knowledge of the customer," the company said. "They will lower their prices and dump their inferior products in order to get a short term part of the U.S. market," the vendor said. It warned that could cost U.S. jobs.
NAB and NCTA meanwhile praised FCC adjustments to its catalog of reimbursable expenses for the post-incentive auction repacking effort. NAB said it "commends" the FCC for updating the expense catalog to reflect market changes. The catalog will help determine how the FCC divvies up the $1.75 billion pot intended to cover the expenses incurred by broadcasters and multichannel video programming distributors in adjusting to the repacked TV band. Though NAB and NCTA said they were pleased with the adjustment, they and others suggested potential new costs for the catalog. A joint filing on behalf of public TV stations asked the FCC to consider those stations' specific circumstances.
NAB appreciates the FCC's "flexibility" in the cost catalog, acknowledging that not all potential broadcaster costs can be included. One outlay that should be included is internal broadcaster staff costs related to the repacking, a sentiment that was echoed by broadcast engineering firm Cohen Dippell. The commission should consider reimbursement for station technical personnel that will be "involved start to finish" in the repacking process, the firm said. NCTA also praised the cost adjustment but said the FCC should account for the increased expense of working on towers above 600 feet. The commission should ensure that MVPDs are "held harmless" for costs incurred during the repacking, NCTA said. Cohen Dippell also asked the FCC to adjust the price range on several items, such as impact studies, upward, calling the current prices "woefully inadequate." NAB also asked the agency to include costs for leased equipment and alternative transmission systems, and to continue updating the catalog as time passes.
Public TV stations have a different procurement process than commercial broadcasters, and rarely have in-house engineers or legal teams, said America's Public Television Stations, CPB and PBS. The commission should acknowledge this difference in the catalog with line items for reimbursement for engineering and legal consultants, the noncommercial groups said. Noncommercial stations must "rely heavily" on outside vendors, the public TV filing said.