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UHF-TV band will end at Channel 29, per FCC

The referenced letter refers to "unlicensed wireless services". What are those?
 
This would be bad news for many stations, but good news for DTV DXers (especially when it comes to E-skip) as many stations will probably end up going to VHF-Low
 
ftballfan said:
This would be bad news for many stations, but good news for DTV DXers (especially when it comes to E-skip) as many stations will probably end up going to VHF-Low
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With ATSC 3.0 they can cram many more stations together since it will use the mpeg 4 video standard. Who knows how long it will take to replace the current ATSC 1.0 system is anyone's guess though.
 
My question is why so low ?? MANY TV stations have been on RF channels 30 & over since the transition to DTV even though they PSIP to their pre-DTV days

Cheers & 73 :D

EDIT - Having said this, this is good news to Ham Radio as well as we can use the spectrum for RC & other wireless, mobile & even satellite applications (Not repeaters as we don't need any of those there)
 
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JeeperOne said:
My question is why so low ?? MANY TV stations have been on RF channels 30 & over since the transition to DTV even though they PSIP to their pre-DTV days

Cheers & 73 :D
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Because money talks, BS walks, and Congress mandated it. The big-market LPTVs that air mostly religion, minor Spanish-language networks and/or infomercials will not be missed -- or even noticed by most people.

EDIT - Having said this, this is good news to Ham Radio as well as we can use the spectrum for RC & other wireless, mobile & even satellite applications (Not repeaters as we don't need any of those there)
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UHF/microwave ham bands are shared with the military and/or ISM, which have priority. The only way that those bands will be vulnerable will be if the government decides they're no longer necessary. Prime example: The 3300-3500 MHz band, which could be worth $Multiple_Billions to the cellphone companies, but is a military band first, controlled by the NTIA. There's little to no ham use, but it's in no danger as long as the Feds control it.
 
Meanwhile, they are still running ads for "HD antennas," encouraging people to "cut the cord" and watch lots of channels - "all your favorites" - for free. Those antennas, are ineffective on lo-VHF and pretty much ineffective on hi-VHF. The FCC was supposed to pull the plug on VHF-TV completely. With they'd make up their minds.
 
Oscar Madison said:
Meanwhile, they are still running ads for "HD antennas," encouraging people to "cut the cord" and watch lots of channels - "all your favorites" - for free. Those antennas, are ineffective on lo-VHF and pretty much ineffective on hi-VHF.
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If you needed an outside antenna before 2009, you'll probably need one now.

The FCC was supposed to pull the plug on VHF-TV completely. With they'd make up their minds.
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Not only has the FCC never said that, they've made the opposite absolutely clear: The VHF channels are not going anywhere except to the broadcast TV service. Period.

VHF and below is useless for consumer wireless services. The frequencies between 225 and 470 MHz are either Federal government/military frequencies (shared with hams between 420 and 450 MHz) or public safety. Most of the upper-UHF and microwave spectrum that isn't already being used for consumer wireless/cellphones is military, satellite, radio astronomy, police radar, and other sacred, probably un-reallocatable services.

Broadcast television is only used by a small subset of the American people. Cellular & wireless services are used by 95% of us. Guess who gets the spectrum? Get rid of those LPTVs that waste spectrum with third-tier Spanish-language and religious networks, plus infomercials, and there'll be plenty of room for the rest.
 
KeithE4 said:
Broadcast television is only used by a small subset of the American people. Cellular & wireless services are used by 95% of us. Guess who gets the spectrum?
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By the same token, broadcast owners don't have the opportunity to buy the spectrum they use. The FCC isn't prioritizing spectrum on use, but on money.
 
TheBigA said:
By the same token, broadcast owners don't have the opportunity to buy the spectrum they use. The FCC isn't prioritizing spectrum on use, but on money.
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What spectrum could they buy, even if they were allowed to do so?

Link: 47 CFR 2.106 -- FCC Table of Allocations. It displays sideways, so it's better to print it to a PDF file from your browser (200+ pages).
 
KeithE4 said:
What spectrum could they buy, even if they were allowed to do so?
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The spectrum they're licensed to use, and then rely on the FCC to oversee, which they don't.

It would be different if the FCC did its job, and worked to police the spectrum, and maybe developed policies that made broadcasting more competitive with the digital world, but they don't. So just sell it, and let someone else do it, rather than deluding everyone that they're doing something.
 
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My understanding is that it's not yet guaranteed that the television band will be cut down to channel 29; if the wireless companies aren't willing to pay as much as the broadcasters ask for, the clearing target will be moved down and more TV space will be left intact, but that's unlikely.

Some people were asking for VHF-Lo to be turned over to an expanded FM band, but the FCC never really took it seriously.
 
Other Countries are Expanding the FM band to get more AM Stations to go to FM

It's a mess right now TBH, The FCC dosn't want to Expand down to 76 MHz, Insted allow AM's to get a translator on the more Packed FM dial in he US

Don't get me started on LPFM's
 
This is what happens when you have the government do something. They added LPFMs, which they should not have done, because of their diversity agenda. In the old days, LPFM would have gotten its own part of the spectrum, the way NCE got the lower end of the deal. LPFM should have been stuck down there, but it's not.
 
The government dosen't know what it wants

Expanding down to 76 MHz is a good idea, But the FCC don't want to..76-88 for LPFM's and Translators, 88-92 Non Comm, 92-107.9 Comm

Knowing the FCC, they won't
 
The other problem, and I mention this a lot in my posts, is the consumer electronics industry is also part of the problem. They've been resistant to including HD in radios, they've been resistant in putting FM in phones, and they've been resistant in dealing with electrical interference. It's not just one or two companies, but the entire industry, from the head of the CEA down. Meanwhile, all I read about is how radio is losing the battle with other platforms. What do you expect? You have the government and the electronics industry working together to create a digital alternative built around the internet, and both are opposed to any logical solutions to the broadcast problems. The fact that there still is broadcasting today is amazing.
 
Morgan Wick said:
My understanding is that it's not yet guaranteed that the television band will be cut down to channel 29; if the wireless companies aren't willing to pay as much as the broadcasters ask for, the clearing target will be moved down and more TV space will be left intact, but that's unlikely.
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Read the FCC Public Notice. It's pretty clear. They are allocating 10 pairs of channel blocks, 5 MHz per block in each pair, out of what was UHF Channels 30-36 and 38-51. Channel 37's use for radio astronomy will continue to be protected. Here is the FCC allocation chart:

UHF-TV: 470-566 MHz (Chs. 14-29)
Guard band: 566-575 MHz
Block A: 575-580, 648-653 MHz
Block B: 580-585, 653-658 MHz
Block C: 585-590, 658-663 MHz
Block D: 590-595, 663-668 MHz
Block E: 595-600, 668-673 MHz
Block F: 600-605, 673-678 MHz
Guard Band: 605-608 MHz
Radio Astronomy: 608-614 MHz
Guard Band: 614-617 MHz
Block G: 617-622, 678-683 MHz
Block H: 622-627, 683-688 MHz
Block I: 627-632, 688-693 MHz
Block J: 632-637, 693-698 MHz
Guard Band: 637-648 MHz

Looks pretty guaranteed to me, although I don't understand why they didn't go with a 3 MHz guard band (572-575 MHz) and keep Channel 30 for TV.

Some people were asking for VHF-Lo to be turned over to an expanded FM band, but the FCC never really took it seriously.
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For the millionth time, the FCC never had any intention of reallocating Chs 2-6 to FM. Never.
 
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