FCC Adopts Order to Promote "Next Gen TV" and "Broadcast Internet Services"

At its December 10 public meeting, the FCC adopted a report and order that modifies agency rules "to foster the efficient and robust use of broadcast spectrum capacity for the provision of "broadcast Internet services" enabled by ASCT 3.0 or "Next Gen TV" technology. Among other things, the Commission's order clarifies that noncommercial educational television stations (NCEs) are free to provide ancillary and supplementary services like broadcast Internet services. I previously mentioned the now-adopted order in a May 2020 blog post. 

The Commission's vote on the order was unanimous in the result, as there appears to be plenty of upside and no downside to the order. In his concurring statement on the order, Commissioner Brendan Carr highlighted some of the potential benefits of broadcast Internet services:

 

For 5G, it could help augment coverage or add capacity by shifting data off cellular networks. As we look to push increasingly more data to the edge of the network, for both fixed and mobile services, broadcast spectrum could provide one way of moving all that data in an efficient and cost-effective manner. 

 

Free State Foundation Senior Fellow Andrew Long described the benefits of Next Gen TV for video consumers in his Perspectives from FSF Scholars paper, "Multicasts, ATSC 3.0 Turn Broadcasting Into a Multichannel Platform." 

FCC Proposing to Keep "Broadcast Internet" Services Free From Legacy Regulations

On May 18, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr delivered a keynote address as part of the National Association of Broadcasters' event on "Broadcast Internet: The Future of ATSC 3.0" Commissioner Carr discussed the potential for ATSC 3.0 technology to deliver 25 Mbps "broadcast Internet" services, including IoT, smart agriculture, and telemedicine services. At its public meeting on June 9, the FCC will consider a proposed rulemaking that would ensure that the intriguing innovative and competitive potentialities of ATSC 3.0 and broadcast Internet services remain free from legacy broadcast regulations. Also check out the Commissioner announcement of the upcoming vote.