AT&T, NAB: Auction 'Disconnect' at FCC

AT&T and the National Association of Broadcasters are on
the same page, literally, when it comes to the FCC's just-released public
notice on a post-incentive auction band plan for coexistence between wireless
broadband and broadcast spectrum users.

In
a joint blog post,
the two said Tuesday that of the FCC's two alternative
proposals to one offered jointly by broadcasters, one "has absolutely no
support in the record" and the other "adopts a technological approach
contrary to the one proposed by the majority of U.S. carriers."

They concede that the FCC is trying to give
itself flexibility to meet market-by-market variations, but still say there
seems to be a "disconnect" between the FCC and the industries -- that
would be most wireless companies and broadcasters -- that will be most affected
by the auction.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.