NAB – Still Waiting on Repeater Rules

NAB says 19 months have come and gone since XM patented a process to transmit locally-originated programming using terrestrial repeaters. As part of its deliberations over the final rules governing terrestrial repeater use for the satcasters, NAB believes the commission should “compel XM to fully and completely disclose all technical parameters of its patent, repeater and satellite network” and explicitly state in the repeater rules that satcasters are prohibited from using their repeaters to transmit locally-originated material.
In a letter to the commission, NAB says it understands agency actions on the repeater rules have been delayed while the satcasters negotiate with other users near its spectrum over interference issues. Now, the trade group says the FCC should separate the repeater rules from the broader issue and act on them promptly. “Otherwise, consumers may purchase SDARS service based on expectations of repeater-based services that will later prove unwarranted,” states NAB.