White Space on the Broadcast Spectrum and Why We Should Care
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates every device that emits radio waves. This means cell phones, radio, television, and wireless microphones. In 2010 the FCC issued a rule that ordered users of wireless microphones to stop broadcasting at 700 MHz. This resulted in the forced scrapping and purchase of tens of thousands of dollars of wireless microphones that broadcast on that length of spectrum. Story over? Not really. Now, two years later the FCC is talking about ‘repacking’ the broadcast spectrum again.
Any change of this type would result in tens of thousands of dollars of additional cost for every arts organization effected. This is cost that was already borne out in good faith two years ago. As congress moves forwards with legislation that would patch the budget with broadcast spectrum auctions the arts community finds itself potentially under the gun in a time where budgets are already lean.
To give a sense of scope for this issue, there are an estimated 21,000 school theaters in addition to the thousands of professional theaters. Combined, these facilities serve millions of patrons and students and contribute nearly eight billion dollars to the economy.
The problem is that the FCC hasn’t formally recognized wireless microphones formally as a broadcast user of the spectrum. As a result it is easy to give away the spectrum that they use. For more information on this issue Theater Communications Group (TCG) has put together a list of articles on the subject.
About the Author
Andre Bouchard Andre Bouchard is Senior Researcher at Technology in the Arts and is a regular presenter at arts conferences in both the US and Canada. For more information on the following conference workshops contact abouchar@andrew.cmu.edu Topics: Gamification to Jumpstart Marketing and Development Campaigns, Assessment of Technology for the Arts, Implementation of Technology Projects for the Arts, Collaborative Marketing, Technology on a Tight Budget, and 100 Promotional Ideas for Under $100. Andre Bouchard is the the 2013 Masters in Arts Management graduating class and has held past positions at Microsoft, The Black Box Theatre at Edmonds Community College, and was the founding Managing Artistic Director of a Walrus Performance Productions and the Walrus Theater in Seattle, WA for nine years. He is passionate about addressing the changing way in which people engage with arts and culture worldwide.
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