TV Exec Says Mobile Communications Companies Want Extra Spectrum Later, Not Sooner
Speaking way out of turn, John Lawson, president of the Association of Public Television Stations said that if TV stations are forced by the FCC to move to digital broadcasts on a nationwide deadline, it will reduce the value of the spectrum to the commercial wireless industry. Wha? Umm, shouldn’t we be asking the wireless industry about that? This industry has been starved for spectrum ever since mobile phones emerged. The US has about one half as much spectrum dedicated to mobile phone use as most developed nations. TV broadcasters, on the other hand, are squatting on huge swaths of spectrum using outdated analog technology, and are dragging their heels on the migration to digital. So the message from Techdirt to the TV guys is twofold: get me better quality digital TV, and free-up all that spectrum you’re wasting (that you got for free years ago). Stop spending money lobbying against it, and start spending more on doing it.
