Free Air (New Yorker)
How the broadcast industry got something for nothing, and expects to take more.
Washington anticipated that it would get all the old spectrum back by 2006. But now broadcasters have come up with a new plan: they’ll keep the new spectrum and hold on to the old spectrum, too. And Congress appears to be going along with it. Last month, the Senate Commerce Committee killed a bill that would set a reasonable but firm deadline of 2009 for the return of the analog channels. In its place, the committee adopted a bill—backed by the broadcasters, naturally—that could enable them to hold on to most of their spectrum indefinitely.
How the broadcast industry got something for nothing, and expects to take more.
Washington anticipated that it would get all the old spectrum back by 2006. But now broadcasters have come up with a new plan: they’ll keep the new spectrum and hold on to the old spectrum, too. And Congress appears to be going along with it. Last month, the Senate Commerce Committee killed a bill that would set a reasonable but firm deadline of 2009 for the return of the analog channels. In its place, the committee adopted a bill—backed by the broadcasters, naturally—that could enable them to hold on to most of their spectrum indefinitely.
