The FCC should not grant Clarity Media a cable TV relay service l...

The FCC should not grant Clarity Media a cable TV relay service license in the 2 GHz CARS And BAS bands at several of its Flying J truck stops (CD Aug 24 p8), MSTV and broadcasters said last week in separate filings to the FCC. Clarity wants to use the service to beam multiple cable channels to vehicles parked at its truck stops. “Clarity is attempting an end-run around the statutorily mandated auction rules,” MSTV said. Granting the license could hurt newsgathering near Flying J facilities, since the proposed spectrum use would create a “black hole” around the facilities in the Broadcast Auxiliary Services Band, said Red River Bcstg. The Clarity request is flawed in that it seeks a series of elaborate waivers rather than a rulemaking, said the Society of Bcst. Engineers (SBE). And if “Clarity wants to use 99% of the 2 GHz TV BAS band for a commercial direct- to-subscribers video delivery service… then the commission would be obligated to award such licenses based on a spectrum auction,” SBE said, echoing MSTV. ABC, Meredith, McGraw- Hill, Lincoln Financial and Centex TV also inveighed against Clarity’s “Trucker TV” plan.