LPTVs are a secondary service, which has its advantages and disadvantages.
One advantage is that they were not constrained by a table of allotments; they were allowed at the application process to select any channel that doesn't interfere with an existing service, unlike full-service stations, which were only able to build on channels allotted to their respective communities. Some full-service stations were allowed to change channel allotments through a petition for rule making process, but those were relatively rare.
Another advantage is that they will still be able to use channels 52 - 59 after the end of the full-service transition, although any station abandoning that spectrum is able to do so through a displacement application, which got priority over all other LPTV applications until the digital replacement service came along a couple of months ago. Digital replacement has the same priority as displacement, so conflicts between the two will be resolved on a first-come, first-served basis.
A disadvantage of LPTV is that as a secondary service, its operation is conditioned upon two premises: 1) LPTV stations will not cause any interference to any primary service; and 2) the stations agree to accept any and all interference from any primary service.
Another disadvantage is that in most cases, they are not entitled to must-carry rights on cable and satellite systems, but that's a discussion for another thread.
Already, there have been instances of LPTV stations in the channel 52 - 59 range being bumped by the new primary service providers in that spectrum. I can cite two in Phoenix alone.
K53GF was given a month's notice by Aloha Partners to vacate the channel, as it would interfere with Aloha's operations on channel 54. Aloha never did launch operations, and K53GF has been able to continue analog operations to this day on channel 53. However, three years ago, upon receiving the ultimatum from Aloha, they applied to build a digital station on channel 38, which launched last October. As anyone who has read the Phoenix TV board is aware, they were not ready. Their signal was for the most part unwatchable, and that says nothing of the programming. The FCC allowed them to continue STA operations in analog on channel 53, and only recently have the digital operations on channel 38 been for the most part free of breakups.
A little more than a year ago, Verizon began FIOS operations in Phoenix on channel 55, forcing AZTV's K55EH translator off the air. They were never able to find a suitable replacement channel, and a couple of months ago, lost their license on channel 55 for failure to transmit for a year.
Most LPTV stations operating on channels 52 - 59 are filing displacement applications seeking in-core channels. There should be no transmissions on channels 60 - 69 after June 12, but I know of many stations that still broadcast on those channels. Perhaps they will be allowed to stay there, again, as long as they don't interfere with any primary service.
