SBE reaffirms opposition to Trucker TV
Dec 6, 2006 8:00 AM
The Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) told the FCC Nov. 20 that it stood by earlier filings in opposition to a proposed truck stop TV service that would use most of the 2GHz band reserved for Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS).
In its most recent filing, the SBE said it “is comfortable with letting the commission draw its own conclusions” regarding the truthfulness of its comments and those filed by Clarity Media Systems, which is seeking waivers to several commission rules so that it can proceed with its Trucker TV service at 2GHz.
While the tone of the SBE comments was firm, it was far less bombastic than the reply comments Clarity filed with the commission Oct. 23. Quoting those comments, which among other things asserted that the SBE made “irresponsible false representations of fact” to the FCC in previous comments, Clarity responded that the SBE responded with an “emotional and churlish attitude toward Clarity’s proposal” rendering “its comments wholly unreliable” and submitting “flimflam” to the FCC to “seriously mislead the commission.”
In the most recent filing with the commission, the SBE pointed out several “misunderstandings,” including the lack of an official SBE representative during a test of the system in Frazier Park, CA, and the lack of a spectrum analyzer — at ENG-RO sites, not close to the transmitting antenna used for the test. The SBE filing also pointed out that a second attempt to test the system was conducted from an “experimental station at a site 3.73km from the geographic coordinates authorized in the WD2XPK experimental license.”
As if to remind the commission of the consequences for testing from coordinates other than those specifically authorized, the society’s filing said it’s “still unclear whether there will be any consequences to Clarity” for building the experimental station at “a significantly different site” than the one the FCC authorized.
The SBE filing also pointed out that Clarity’s reply comments did not address several issues the society raised previously, including:
- The availability of consumer-grade DBS receivers for trucks and RVs that show there is an alternative to Clarity’s proposed service for drivers parked at truck plazas;
- The availability of television and broadband Internet access via the Idle Air system being deployed at truck stops;
- The society assertion that Clarity should file a petition to rulemaking rather than seek the waivers;
- The SBE stance that if the Trucker TV service were to be allowed, it would under the Communications Act necessitate that spectrum for such a service be awarded by way of an auction.
The SBE concluded, “Trucker TV would be an ill-advised and unnecessary use of 2GHz TV BAS spectrum.”
For more background, see: "Industry groups line up in opposition to 'Trucker TV.'"
For more information, visit www.sbe.org.
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