Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/683118
19 and at the present time, no fi nal road map for the auction has been proposed. They did publish a chart of potential frequency use, which has a range of potential scenarios from only two broadband blocks to twelve broadband blocks. The scenarios are messy because the broadband blocks are 5 MHz wide while TV channels are 6 MHz wide; TV Channel 37 must be protected; and the broadband blocks must have an 11 MHz guard band between the uplink and downlink blocks. Depending on the scenario, there is a minimum of 3 MHz of unused spectrum to a maximum of 11 MHz of spectrum that might be available for wireless microphones. Figure 5 illustrates the complexity of the Spectrum Act's requirements. The very top line shows the UHF TV spec- trum as it exists today. But then the fi gure shows eleven different scenarios with two to twelve blocks becoming available for auction. What nobody knows today is how many UHF television stations will desire to sell their chan- nel; how many carriers will bid on potential blocks; and what may be left for low-power auxiliary devices like wire- less microphones. Since the downlink and uplink block pairs will be sold on a country-wide basis, the market with the fewest UHF TV stations that decide to sell out will de- fi ne the scenario throughout the United States. There is an active debate on whether the 11 MHz guard band will allow one UHF TV station to operate in the guard band. The carriers do not want a high-power UHF TV transmitter to interfere with their customers. There is also another guard band between downlink blocks and UHF TV channels. This is an attempt to reduce potential interference from nearby carriers' transmitters and UHF TV reception. The guard bands have the potential for wire- less microphones but one must consider that a nearby cell tower could make use of these guard bands for production very challenging. FIGURE 5 Part 2 of "The Radio Frequency Spectrum Puzzle" will continue in the summer edition.