QComm is the team you need to get your repack done
“QComm stands for ‘Quality Behind the Scenes,’” says Tony zumMallen, President of QCommunications, LLC. “We spend our time and effort to run your repack, so you don’t have to.”
Tony zumMallen and John Owen founded QComm in 2006 to help broadcasters maximize the benefits of the Sprint/Nextel 2 GHz deal. QComm negotiated, engineered, managed, and installed services to 69 TV stations as part of the 2 GHz relocation project.
As a team, Tony and John have over 75 years of broadcast, engineering, design, installation and relocation experience. QComm now employs over 15 professionals who help TV stations across the nation meet over-the-air broadcast goals.
But right now, QComm is focused on your repack.
Repack phase deadlines are bearing down like a train with no brakes: October 18, 2019. January 17, 2020. March 13, 2020. May 1, 2020. July 3, 2020.
Your broadcast transmission is the lifeblood of your TV station. And if you don’t have your repack complete or a Special Temporary Authorization (STA) in place by your assigned date, your transmission will have to go dark.
Resources are stretched to the limit trying to complete the more than 2,000 repacks. You may face equipment delays. Or have trouble scheduling a tower crew.
But what if you don’t have the capacity to organize and design a repack? It’s a capital project that takes a lot of internal time. And you still have a station to run.
QComm can help you out.
In 2016, QComm decided to temporarily direct its entire business to the FCC Repack Project. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime project for stations. It’s not easy for them to get up to speed,” zumMallen explains. “But QComm has over 50,000 man-hours in repack knowledge and experience—we’ve repacked over 50 transmitters, with more in process.”
The company does everything needed for your station’s repack:
- Managing, engineering, designing, installing, and decommissioning your equipment;
- Interacting with all necessary entities, including the FCC;
- Transitioning the incumbent and new licensees; and,
- Coordinating the tower climbers.
This last point is critical. Only 29 tower crews have the stringent credentials to work on these tall towers. And not only are they handling unprecedented volumes of repack work, stations still need them to do “normal” work on their towers.
“These crews do not have time to waste,” says zumMallen. “When they show up on a QComm managed project, they have everything they need to get right to work.”
QComm’s service costs are 100% covered as part of the forced channel relocation. It can cost you nothing to get your repack done, zumMallen explained.
“It makes no sense to wait,” says zumMallen. “We even send in the documentation to the FCC and get it all approved. And then you get paid directly by the FCC.”
After the repack
“We’re happy to help stations make a smooth transition during the repack,” zumMallen says. “But we’re also looking forward to moving back into some of our other areas of expertise.”
The company will return to offering a full range of services to broadcasters, which includes designing and engineering complete TV stations, creating disaster plans, and helping with mergers.
QComm is ready to answer your questions and work to get your repack done. Find out how they can help you at www.QCOMM.TV.
October 2, 2019
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