The Federal Communications Commission today granted Los Angeles-area television stations KLCS and KJLA permission to conduct a channel sharing trial. The trial, proposed by the CTIA Wireless Association last month, is meant to prove that multiple TV signals can be shared in the same slice of spectrum. "We find that the channel sharing pilot is in the public interest, as it may help to demonstrate the feasibility of successful channel sharing between two independently owned stations," said the FCC. "It also may serve as a model for other stations contemplating participation in the incentive auction, using the channel sharing option, and provide information about the technical implementation of channel sharing agreements. We do not anticipate enforcement issues that would impede the accomplishment of the experiment." The FCC is holding an incentive auction in 2015, the point of which is to coax television broadcasters to give up some of their spectrum so it can be repurposed for mobile broadband. The channel sharing tests will be run during the first quarter of the year, and will not impact KLCS nor KJLA's customers.


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