The potential loss of current analog translators coupled with the...

The potential loss of current analog translators coupled with the lack of any digital services in the future would affect not only viewers dependent on over-the-air signals but also many subscribers to rural cable systems nationwide, the Assn. of Public TV Stations (APTS) and PBS said in an FCC filing. PTV stations, which operate 700 translators, can use their fully converted digital system to provide “powerful, cost-effective and nearly universal last mile” services, they said in comments on a National Translator Assn. petition for a rulemaking to establish a rural translator service. However, translators are threatened because they currently are considered a secondary device and because the Commission hasn’t yet set rules that would allow licensees to operate digital translators on their present analog allotments. The authorization of new translators (analog or digital) also is made more difficult by administrative processes that “unnecessarily” aggregate “traditional translators” with LPTV facilities for application processing, they said. It’s undisputed that small cable systems in rural areas rely on TV translator signals at their headends to provide service, the public broadcasters said, and, if translators are shut down, “not only will rural Americans who rely on over-the-air reception be denied service, but a significant number of rural cable subscribers would also lose service.”