AT&T: Repack Timetable “Aggressive,” T-Mobile: “Flexibility” Needed

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AT&T remains skeptical the television repack can be accomplished within the FCC’s anticipated 39-month timeframe, calling the post-auction transition “a complex, multi-disciplinary effort that will span several years.”

In comments filed with the Commission, the carrier says the repack “will likely impact thousands of broadcasters, as well as multichannel video programming distributors, new 600 MHz wireless licensees and consumers.” Even with planning, “getting the transition right will be challenging at best.”

Calling the 39-month timetable “aggressive,” AT&T says the agency “must be cognizant of its own limitations and the long history of similar transitions in the 800 MHz, AWS-1 and DTV bands, where challenges from unpacking the daisy chain to delays from local zoning boards prevented the completion of these projects in anything approaching the expected timelines.” To keep things on schedule, the FCC should require stations to submit progress reports regularly and really review those to tackle problems when they arise.

In the spirit of transparency, the agency should establish an online web portal to disseminate transition information to all affected parties, like broadcasters and new wireless licensees who will use their newly-gained spectrum. AT&T also believes the Commission should be clear about the consequences for missing deadlines. “Because the failure of one station to meet its deadline can affect so many other stations, MVPDs and ultimately, 600 MHz licensees, the consequences should be severe enough to ensure compliance.”

T-Mobile says the FCC should be prepared to adjust the repack plan as needed “to ensure the most efficient allocation of resources.” As a qualified bidder, T-Mobile “has expended considerable resources to conduct its own research” on actual resources out there and conducted analysis of transition plan options to identify and resolve potential time constraints.

“Critical to the success of this transition is avoiding rigid assumptions about resource constraints and station transition agility. The Transition Plan must allow for—and rely on—flexibility in order to avoid delays that might undermine swift clearance of the new 600 MHz mobile band.”

Inside Towers has reported NAB and tower companies have asked the FCC to lift the communication ban on auction participants. AT&T and T-Mobile agree.

So too, does Electronics Research, Inc., which has expanded its television antenna manufacturing capability and hired more tower climbers in anticipation of the repack. ERI’s crews are trained and equipped for the installation of large television antennas at tower heights of 1,000 feet and higher. ERI tells the Commission the ban “has placed a muzzle on broadcasters, preventing them from reaching out to vendors and other service providers to begin making plans, gather pricing information, conduct preliminary analysis of current facilities and equipment.”

Published November 4, 2016

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