Trump Wants Spectrum Fee

[TheBigA]

As part of the 2020 WH budget Trump revives the idea of charging broadcasters a spectrum use fee.

http://www.insideradio.com/free/fcc...cle_1bcf52c8-4a15-11e9-956c-e38a9c734cd1.html

Just another part of the WH proposal that's likely dead on arrival at Congress.

 

[Chuck]

They are already making commercial broadcasters pay an annual "Spectrum Management Fee." For small stations, it is just another way to keep them economically on the edge of failure. Non-coms are currently exempt, but maybe they should be included too...

 

[TheBigA]

They are already making commercial broadcasters pay an annual "Spectrum Management Fee."

Between that fee and the spectrum sales, the FCC actually makes a profit. The appropriation they receive is paid back, and has been for many years. So the FCC isn't hurting. As I said, this proposal is DOA.

 

[kenglish]

Reading the article, I get the feeling that it's more of the misguided "Kill the goose, get her eggs" mentality. Doesn't the WH realize that broadcasting is on the way out?
If they want to collect fees, maybe they should charge the broadband and cell-phone users .

 

[davideduardo]

Reading the article, I get the feeling that it's more of the misguided "Kill the goose, get her eggs" mentality. Doesn't the WH realize that broadcasting is on the way out?

You talk about "broadcasting" being in a near-extinction situation as if this would happen later this year...

The decline in usage of over the air RF based delivery is very slow. And it is more a question of scale than of total abandonment. 91% of US residents use traditional radio each week, down from 94% in 1985. Of course, the amount of time radio is used has declined more severely, but there is not indication that the total demise of radio is anywhere near at hand.

And "broadcasting" also applies to streaming and satellite delivery, so as operators of towers and transmitters develop better streaming models and the industry figures out how to monetize streaming (which is the giant elephant in the room) we will simply see the platform transition.

As far as licensing fees, it will be a long time before the FCC would see a reduction in the AM and FM potential revenue.

 

[TheBigA]

If they want to collect fees, maybe they should charge the broadband and cell-phone users .

They already are. Check your bill. Look for this: Federal Universal Service Charge