# Major question on the TV digital transition



## samhevener (Feb 23, 2006)

I have a question that I have asked several times but I have never received an answer. How many total megahertz of space is being freed up after the transistion? How many of these megahertz or kilohertz are being given to first responders or emergency services? How many of the megahertz or kilohertz is being auctioned off to private corporations? How many of the megahertz or kilohertz is being given to the public for FCC part 15 devices (unlicensed devices such as cordless phones, garage door openers, other wireless devices)? I have never received a straight answer.


----------



## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

channels 52-69 are being re-purposed. Considering that each channel is 6 MHz, I'm sure you can do the math concerning the loss to OTA TV. 

Doing some digging on the FCC's website should get you the rest of your answer.


----------



## HIPAR (May 15, 2005)

Working from memory .. basically it's something like this:

The spectrum between 700 - 800 MHz has been freed from television broadcasting. All other TV spectrum remains as is. Approximately 25 MHz of this between 775 - 800 MHZ is for public safety communications. Most of the rest has been or soon will be auctioned. There have been buyouts where spectrum purchasers have paid TV stations to vacate early.

There have been complications with auctions for small portions (Block D) of that spectrum targeted for networks to be shared with the public during times of no emergency.

I can't recall any of the freed spectrum being allocated to Part 15 devices but there is an ongoing movement to allow 'whitespace' devices to operate on unoccupied TV channels.

And, from a technical viewpoint, there is no such thing as the analog spectrum or digital spectrum.


----------



## BillRadio (Aug 5, 2004)

The spectrum has already been auctioned off and Verizon Wireless was the biggest bidder. The FCC also set aside other segments that were won by smaller carriers, and yet another regional group of frequncies were won by some of the medium size cellular carriers, like T-Mobile. The spectrum for which there were no bids carried a high price tag: the winning bidder would need to provide "free" access to "first responders" as well as other "open" uses. Nobody wanted that baggage.

So the FCC changed the rules and will hope to get bids for that last batch of frequencies. Sadly, the TV channels were/will be mostly taken over by the cellular carriers who will build cellular, data and, maybe, "first responder" networks, as long as there is a profit in it.

It sounds bad, but I think it is a much better use of the TV channels which, for the most part, are blank. The FCC has also started the process to allow those blank spaces to also be used.


----------



## samhevener (Feb 23, 2006)

Is the major percentage of total "freed up space" going to private corporations or to the first responder public service users?


BillRadio said:


> The spectrum has already been auctioned off and Verizon Wireless was the biggest bidder. The FCC also set aside other segments that were won by smaller carriers, and yet another regional group of frequncies were won by some of the medium size cellular carriers, like T-Mobile. The spectrum for which there were no bids carried a high price tag: the winning bidder would need to provide "free" access to "first responders" as well as other "open" uses. Nobody wanted that baggage.
> 
> So the FCC changed the rules and will hope to get bids for that last batch of frequencies. Sadly, the TV channels were/will be mostly taken over by the cellular carriers who will build cellular, data and, maybe, "first responder" networks, as long as there is a profit in it.
> 
> It sounds bad, but I think it is a much better use of the TV channels which, for the most part, are blank. The FCC has also started the process to allow those blank spaces to also be used.


----------



## Kansas Zephyr (Jun 30, 2007)

samhevener said:


> Is the major percentage of total "freed up space" going to private corporations or to the first responder public service users?


Private companies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/700_MHz_wireless_spectrum_auction

A look at the bandplan:

http://wireless.fcc.gov/auctions/data/bandplans/700MHzBandPlan.pdf


----------



## samhevener (Feb 23, 2006)

Thanks for the information. The FCC website you posted was the information I was looking for and it answers my question. There are 108 mhz being freed up, public service is going to get 24 mhz or a little more than 22%. The commericals running now on TV say the space is for public service. Nothing is said about the bulk or 78% of the space that is going to the megabillion dollar cellphone corporations. The industry can't even give us straight information. If the commericals told the truth, the public would be up outraged. Shame on the groups running the commericals including the government.


Kansas Zephyr said:


> Private companies.
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/700_MHz_wireless_spectrum_auction
> 
> ...


----------



## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

Although the corporations are paying for the frequencies, they will be used by the public who subscribe to these services.


----------



## Kansas Zephyr (Jun 30, 2007)

samhevener said:


> Thanks for the information. The FCC website you posted was the information I was looking for and it answers my question. There are 108 mhz being freed up, public service is going to get 24 mhz or a little more than 22%. The commericals running now on TV say the space is for public service. Nothing is said about the bulk or 78% of the space that is going to the megabillion dollar cellphone corporations. The industry can't even give us straight information. If the commericals told the truth, *the public would be up outraged*. Shame on the groups running the commericals including the government.


Remember TV channels 70-83?

They went bye-bye in 1983 for cell phones and pagers, plus a chunk for public service...I don't recall any public outrage over that.

The same thing is happening again...the difference is that at the same time they are removing channels 52-69 from the TV service and auctioning the spectrum (including an additional public service band...plus, a proposed nationwide free wireless Internet network)...they decided to go ahead and switch to digital, at the same time.


----------



## samhevener (Feb 23, 2006)

Of course there was no outrage then. The public was still able to use the TV sets they have had for years without any changes or alterations. It wasn't even noticed by most.


Kansas Zephyr said:


> Remember TV channels 70-83?
> 
> They went bye-bye in 1983 for cell phones and pagers, plus a chunk for public service...I don't recall any public outrage over that.
> 
> The same thing is happening again...the difference is that at the same time they are removing channels 52-69 from the TV service and auctioning the spectrum (including an additional public service band...plus, a proposed nationwide free wireless Internet network)...they decided to go ahead and switch to digital, at the same time.


----------



## Kansas Zephyr (Jun 30, 2007)

samhevener said:


> Of course there was no outrage then. The public was still able to use the TV sets they have had for years without any changes or alterations. It wasn't even noticed by most.


...and freeing up this spectrum could have been done without going to digital, too.

So, the outrage is over going digital...not freeing the spectrum, huh? Your previous posts seemed to indicate that you thought the public would be outraged if "they learned that only 22% of the newly freed spectrum was for public service".


----------



## HIPAR (May 15, 2005)

Actually, the public has an insatiable appetite for the telecommunication gizmos that will operate in the freed spectrum.

--- CHAS


----------

