FCC Chairman Ajit Pai told lawmakers Thursday, the workload stemming from the post-incentive auction broadcast repack is piling up, and the agency needs more money to handle it. He called the agency’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2019 “fiscally responsible” at $333,118,000, derived from regulatory fees for regular FCC operations, and an auction spending cap of $112,734,000.
Pai thanked lawmakers on a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for approving repack funding of up to one billion dollars to complete the repacking process, in increments of $600,000,000 and $400,000,000 in FY 2018 and FY 2019, respectively. The money will be used to reimburse relocation costs for full-power TV stations moving to a new channel as well as low-power television stations, TV translators, and FMs that incur repack costs, and repack-related consumer outreach.
All of these changes add to the FCC’s workload, which is part of why the agency asked for the auction cap amount to be adjusted upwards. “Given the complexity of developing the prior analysis for the full-power stations and the sheer number of stations likely to seek funding under these new programs, we know that this effort will be resource-intensive,” Pai testified.
The FCC projects its auction program will increase spending to $112,734,000 from the FY 2018 level of $111,150,000, so the agency can hold at least two high-band spectrum auctions. This money also helps fund the repack work.
May 21, 2018
Reader Interactions