NAB and Sinclair Spar With HC2 on 5G Broadcast
Proponents of the 5G broadcast standard for low-power TV haven’t adequately shown that the new standard won’t cause interference to other services, said Sinclair Broadcast and NAB in reply comments filed in docket 25-168 in response to a petition from HC2 (see 2506030060). The petitioner “has not submitted a detailed engineering analysis or a technical study demonstrating that LPTV stations can operate using 5G Broadcast without interfering with existing television services,” said Sinclair.
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NAB said the FCC shouldn’t interfere with the effort to complete the ATSC 3.0 transition by enabling 5G broadcast. Authorizing the standard on its own isn’t necessary because it can be implemented within 3.0, it noted. “In reality, the two standards are not ‘either/or.’ They can coexist in a hybrid fashion.”
HC2 disagreed, saying, “Authorizing a voluntary option for LPTV stations to adopt 5G Broadcast will not hinder or distract from the transition to ATSC 3.0.” LPTV stations “are on a separate path from full power stations in the ATSC 3.0 transition.” Broadcaster concerns about interference overlook the fact that LPTV stations are secondary and would be displaced for interfering with full-power operations, HC2 added.