NAB Turns up the Heat

Well the veiled “We don’t want this, stay away” responses did not work so the forces of the NAB are making it personal now. Their target? Julius Knapp –

He is one of the most respected, accomplished and well-liked public servants ever to grace the Federal Communications Commission. Now, mobile phone carriers, TV network moguls and others want his head. Julius Knapp, chief of the agency’s Office of Engineering and Technology, has a big target on his back. There is nothing subtle about the disdain gushing his way.

Knapp is running interference so to speak for FCC Chairman Kevin Martin regarding controversial white spaces and advanced wireless services-3 initiatives. The floodgates opened after the OET issued testing reports that concluded unlicensed devices can operate without disruption to others in TV airwaves and that a new national wireless broadband service can coexist in frequencies next to those purchased for billions of dollars by wireless carriers at a 2006 auction.

Broadcasters and their ilk contend the OET’s analysis of white spaces interference testing is flawed. The wireless industry attacked the OET over a report on testing to ascertain potential interference from TDD transmissions in the AWS-3 band (2155-2180 MHz) to cellphone service in the AWS-1 band (2110-2155 MHz).

I don’t know Mr. Knapp from a hole in the ground. But just like the ‘Joe the Plumber’ incident this is getting out of hand. If Knapp over stepped his capacity then have the FCC slap him around. But I tend to doubt he did. But if Knapp is just doing what he was asked to do, well then we are bound to support the guy.

I would have two questions for the NAB mavens. 1) What do YOU intended to do with the white space bandwidth? Fears of interference don’t count for you as your services are moving to an entirely different frequency band. Lacking plans, go away. 2) Where is your economic standing for your loss? Since your industry only used the space as guard bands to prevent interference amongst yourselves please identify how you incur any economic loss in the matter?

We await your reply. Not expecting any of course.

Linky.