DTV Transition & Media Reform

In an October 2007 letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), executives from the four largest TV networks told the Commission that proposals to allow low-power Wi-Fi type devices to operate on vacant TV channels, “could cause permanent damage to over-the-air digital television reception." Such a dire warning would ring alarm bells for policymakers, if not for the fact that similar nightmare scenarios have been predicted before.

Abstract

The events surrounding Hurricane Katrina and the 9/11 attacks demonstrated that the communications systems used by first responders in the United States are not adequate to meet the challenges of a post-9/11 world. The U.S. system is based on assumptions that local agencies should have maximal flexibility at the expense of standardization and regional coordination, that commercial carriers and municipal systems have little role to play, that public safety should not share spectrum or network infrastructure, and that narrowband… more

In early 2006, the Wireless Future Program at the New America Foundation, an independent think tank, launched a new initiative to advance its work on public interest spectrum policy by strengthening connections with -- and service to -- diverse public constituencies. NAF enlisted CIMA: Center for International Media Action to convene a group to advise its Wireless Future Program from the perspective of communities that have a vested stake in the debate, but whose interests are not well represented by… more

This paper was submitted to the American Political Science Association 2006  Annual Meeting.

It’s a common observation that crises such as wars, recessions, stock market meltdowns, ethics scandals, and natural catastrophes often drive the public policymaking process. A crisis reveals a problem and then a public consensus emerges that policymakers must do something about it. The policy debate then centers on the best means to solve the problem.

Interest groups well understand the political logic of such crisis moments. Accordingly,… more

There are vacant channels between broadcast television stations in every media market. This spectrum can be used by unlicensed devices without interfering with television viewing.

An unlicensed allocation of these bands would be the most productive way to use this spectrum. Unlicensed spectrum is a proven way to generate technical and commercial innovation; promotes healthy diversity in markets and regulatory models; and complements the licensed allocation in the nearby 700 MHz band.

A broad cross-section of society would benefit, including… more