CBA gets support from major broadcasters
August 14, 2019
By Chris Forrester
The C-Band Alliance has won significant extra support for its reallocation of satellite spectrum over the US to help speed 5G’s adoption.
The support comes from CBS, Discovery, Fox, Disney, Univision and Viacom, which in a 19-page filing to the FCC make it very clear that during the past 13 months they (the ‘Content Companies’) have worked collaboratively and agreed in principle on a plan that would achieve these goals by reallocating 200 MHz of the C-band, balanced with appropriate protections to mitigate the likelihood of interference to reception of video downlink by earth station incumbents in the repacked band at 3900-4200 MHz. That plan is ripe for adoption.”
The filing is not just supportive of the C-Band Alliance but dismisses the proposal from the ACA Connects Coalition and its suggestion to switch from satellite to fibre. “[The proposal] does not grapple with substantial science and engineering questions. In particular, the ACA Connects Coalition proposal underestimates the complexity, timing, reliability challenges, and cost that would arise from an attempt to change the video distribution infrastructure from one based primarily on satellite to one based mostly on fiber.”
“The Content Companies accordingly urge the FCC to return focus to proposals on which comment was sought in the [FCC’s original Notice of Proposed Rulemaking request for comments], and specifically to finish the work necessary to reallocate 200 MHz of C-band spectrum while protecting video distribution to over 120 million American households.”