The National Association of Broadcasters in the US has asked national regulator the FCC to protect TV white spaces for use by TV stations.

Microsoft and other TV white space advocates, which are looking to unoccupied, unlicensed spectrum to provide broadband opportunities, especially in underserved areas, would like the FCC to guarantee spectrum access rights for this purpose.However, doing so would prevent broadcasters from using unoccupied in-band TV channels to maintain ATSC 1.0 services as they transition to ATSC 3.0 Next-Gen TV “Microsoft has thus shifted from seeking to use unoccupied channels [as authorised in a 2008 FCC] to asking the Commission to create unoccupied channels at the expense of innovation, preservation of service and new entry by broadcast television stations,” the NAB filing with the FCC said.It added that vacant channels in the TV band have yet to provide the promised digital divide benefit, given that fewer than 1,000 TV white space devices operate in the United States on any given day.“Eight years after the current rule framework was put in place, white spaces technology continues to be a myth,” NAB said, adding a zinger: “The Microsoft Zune and Windows Phone had vastly better track records than white spaces.”Because broadcasters will not have a second channel as they move to ATSC 3.0, it may not always be possible to duplicate current coverage, maintain signal quality or maintain all of a station’s existing multicasting without being able to use available vacant channels.