[opendtv] Re: Questions about DTT Transition and Channels 60-69

At 12:32 AM -0700 9/28/05, John Willkie wrote:
>NAB started the ball rolling to defend their turf.  The rolling ball led to
>DTV.  Ipso facto, the transition to digital started out as being about
>public safety communications.  And, with (or without) foresight, they did
>this five years before the word digital was entered into the proceeding,
>meaning that more than one channel wouldn't be needed for HDTV.  From one
>perspective, it was foresight.  From another perspective, it was a lack of
>foresight.

You are still spinning your wheels John. While there is good evidence 
that the public safety interest were trying to get more spectrum, by 
your own admission, they got little traction at the FCC. In 
Washington you need money to get people to pay attention - public 
safety costs the politicians money, it does not line their pockets.

The real force at work was Land Mobile, which was desperately trying 
to grow the mobile telephony business. As a result of the NAB 
delaying tactics they were forced to use technology to solve their 
problem - moving into less desirable spectrum to get the job done.

If you doubt this, just look at the money pouring into political 
coffers from the mobile telephony business today, in an attempt to 
bring the DTV transition to a much needed conclusion. The politicians 
have perfected the art of playing one industry against another to 
keep everyone paying - even to the extent of doing major re-writes of 
communications law, carefully crafted so as not to work, requiring 
another rewrite a decade later.

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Regards
Craig



>
>The need for public safety and personal communications continues to grow,
>while the utility of broadcast channels -- in a heavily cabled
>environment -- is subject to challenge.
 
 
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