Contact:
Tania Panczyk-Collins
202 654-4222
tpanczyk@apts.org
Public Television Asks FCC for Flexibility During DTV Transition APTS and PBS urged the FCC not to overcomplicate an already complex process during the transition to digital-only broadcasting, and asked the Commission to be accommodating to station’s digital construction needs, in a joint FCC filing on the Third Periodic Review related to the DTV transition.
APTS and PBS said the final Table of Allotments should be viewed as setting forth the maximum coverage contour in which a station may operate rather than the exact parameters on which they must operate. Also, the hard date of February 17, 2009 should be interpreted as the date on which analog transmissions must end, rather than the required date for each broadcaster to be operating on its full digital transmission facilities.
In addition, APTS and PBS asked the Commission to give maximum flexibility to stations that are best situated to map their own way through the transition. Stations should be freely able to reduce or terminate analog service before the hard date if doing so serves their transitions.
The Commission should also have a policy and an efficient process that provides for liberal acceptance of flash-cut applications. APTS and PBS also encouraged the FCC to develop a policy in which expedited processing of construction permit applications is granted to all applications from all stations whose Congressionally authorized funding is contingent on their receipt of a construction permit.
Click here for complete FCC filing
