Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/683118
17 had some help in that free converters were made available to the public funded by the sale of the "700 MHz band." Originally, the transition date was February 2007 but it was clear at that time that not enough TV stations were ready to transmit digital and not enough viewers were ready to receive digital TV. The date was extended several times and fi nally on June 12, 2009, digital ATSC replaced analog NTSC throughout the United States. When this happened, the UHF television band was reduced to Chan- nel 14 through Channel 51. But the carriers started to complain about interference from Channel 51 so TV sta- tions on this channel had to move to another unused TV channel. Although Channel 51 still exists, in practice it is not used by TV stations. Figure 4 shows the UHF TV spectrum as it exists today in 2016. THE SPECTRUM ACT OF 2012 Buried in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, Congress directed the FCC to sell about 100 MHz of the UHF TV band, now commonly referred to as "600 MHz." This legislation came as a complete surprise to the FCC, the broadcast industry and the mobile carriers. Since that time, there has been considerable debate over exactly how this can be done and how this should be done. There are competing issues at stake. First, enough UHF TV channels must be cleared of existing television broadcasters nationwide to make a nationwide block of frequencies avail- able to carriers. Second, new channels have to be found for these TV stations to move to. Third, the block of frequencies must be sold at a high-enough price to pay the TV station's cost to move and leave a profi t to the United States. Keep in mind that the Spectrum Act requires that the auction provide positive cash fl ow to the US Treasury. Not all FCC spectrum auctions have been successful. In this case, if the UHF TV stations demand premium dollars for their channels and the carriers hold back, the auction fails. Then the FCC has to revise its plan unless Congress changes the law. When this is over, a signifi cant amount of UHF TV spectrum will be lost and it is likely that there will be no "unused" UHF TV channels. WHITE SPACES Several groups, including Microsoft, Google, Dell, HP, Intel, Philips, Earthlink and Samsung, proposed tech- nology to use "unused" UHF TV channels for high-speed Internet access. These devices were termed "White Space Devices" (WSD). After testing and lawsuits, the FCC approved the unli- censed use of white space on November 4, 2008. Howev- er, there were several limits imposed on the use of WSD that has limited their use. The major issue is that after the 700 MHz band was taken from broadcasting, there were few unused UHF TV channels or "White Spaces" left. Because these devices are unlicensed, FCC Rules require that they must operate without interference to licensed devices. The FCC mandated a system where licensed us- ers and locations that use Broadcast Auxiliary Services like theaters or sports complexes can register that loca- tion and TV channel and all WSD in that area must shut down. While there have been a few demonstration systems installed, in general, WSD is a dead issue with no profi t- able business model. FIGURE 4