Math Shows FCC Repacking Timelines Won't Work, Say Tower, Antenna Companies
The numbers show broadcasters aren’t going to be able to complete the repacking on the FCC’s 39-month timeline without adjustment, said tower industry and broadcast industry officials in interviews. The rate at which stations are completing repacking moves, number of tower crews available to move them, and the advancing phase schedule add up to many broadcasters in later phases not completing their repacking on time, they said.
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“The math doesn’t support it," said FDH Infrastructure Business Development Manager Don Doty of the FCC's plan. "We need to change gears.” He was among those who recently met with commission staff to sound the alarm. The other companies -- American Tower, Dielectric, and Vertical Technology Services, didn't comment.
The FCC has said it's monitoring the situation (see 1811130072). After meeting Doty and other tower industry executives, the Incentive Auction Task Force told them it will meet with them again in January about the matter, Doty said. That would be shortly after the start of the repack’s phase two, Dec. 1-April 12.
“We have serious concerns that, before the end of Phase 2, 4/12/19, the delays will increase significantly, leading to missed phase deadlines,” said the tower companies. Repack watchers previously said they expect snowballing delays and resource and manpower shortages to begin taking a heavy toll in phase three (see 1809100033).
The post-incentive auction repacking assigned stations to phases based on clearing the 600 MHz band quickly, giving complicated repacking jobs more time, and limiting how often viewers would have to rescan TVs, says the FCC’s website. Phases aren’t based on geography. This means later phases involve more difficult repack situations, while phase 1 has many of the simpler jobs. The unofficial phase zero refers to stations that completed repacking before phase one, either with assistance from T-Mobile to quickly clear spectrum or because of special circumstances such as storm damage in Puerto Rico.
The FCC timetable is “overly aggressive,” an NAB spokesman said. “Given that only one major bidder in the TV auction has any spectrum buildout plans whatsoever, there is no justification for punishing broadcasters and TV viewers with deadlines that are simply unreasonable.” T-Mobile, the incentive auction winner that has been most active in seeking to clear and build out incentive auction spectrum acquisitions, didn't comment.
The FCC and IATF didn’t comment Friday. Earlier, they said the transition schedule was created to account for resource constraints. The tower executives don't expect the FCC to take immediate action, and are hopeful the commission will work with them, Doty said. “The FCC is convinced this is all gonna work.” In January, “We’re gonna see where the numbers take us,” he said.
There are 34 stations left to be repacked in phase 1, and 97 in phase 2, the tower groups say. Though 119 stations were successfully repacked in phase 1 and the preceding phase zero, those successful jobs have included numerous delays due to weather and a lack of resources or crews, the tower companies said. Winter weather in many parts will heavily affect phase 2, Doty said.
Ice on the tower already is causing delays for Holston Valley Broadcasting’s WKPT-TV Kingsport, Tennessee, said General Manager David Widener. WKPT is on schedule to make its phase 2 deadline but the tower crew on hand can’t proceed until the tower is clear, Widener said. Work previously was delayed by nearly a month because of crew availability, and Widener said the coming holidays also will slow things. WKPT will be repacked on time, but Widener said the slowdowns he faces now will ripple down to broadcasters in later phases. “Things keep getting pushed,” he said.
Ramar Communications has two stations in Lubbock, Texas, repacking for phase 1 and also expects to make deadline, said General Manager Brad Moran. But he has experienced delays getting equipment, plus increased prices to have materials delivered quickly. The resource crunch is driving up the price of equipment needed for the repacking (see 1809100033).
The tower and equipment companies suggested solutions to the FCC. They include adjusting the timeline and working with wireless spectrum buyers to prioritize certain markets, adding more tower crews, or changing the repacking focus to shifting broadcasters to interim antennas that take less time to make rather than permanent ones. Stations thus could vacate the spectrum sold in the incentive auction while repacking on time. Interim antennas operate at reduced power, Moran noted, though Ramar is using one as part of its repacking process. Adding tower crews likely would require a shift in deadlines as well, since it can take five years to train a crew to work safely on the giant broadcast towers, Doty said. T-Mobile didn’t comment on extending the repack timeline and prioritizing certain markets, but it has historically supported the FCC’s timeline.
“There’s not enough trained and experienced crews,” said Florida Association of Broadcasters President Patrick Roberts. Though tower companies' concerns are in line with longstanding NAB and industry predictions, Roberts said the forecasts have more weight coming from the companies that build and maintain the equipment going onto towers. He believes the regulator will adjust the schedule: “The FCC is listening.”