FCC Eyes Voluntary Return Of TV Spectrum in Plan

摘要

The FCC's national broadband plan will recommend that any reallocation of TV broadcast spectrum for wireless broadband services be voluntary, FCC officials said Jan. 13, complaining that broadcasters had wrongly suggested that the agency was intent on shutting down free, over-the-air TV service.rnThe issue of whether the FCC would force TV stations to give up spectrum has generated intense interest since Blair Levin, executive director of the FCC's Omnibus Broadband Initiative, began discussing reclaiming some channels with broadcast industry executives in October 2009. The wireless industry and the Consumer Electronics Association have lobbied hard for a reallocation, while broadcasters have hit back, including by running TV ads warning that free over-the-air TV "could be taken away" if "special interest groups" get their way.