Private broadcasters grew large and profitable under
this arrangement. But over time, as their advertising
revenues soared, their public-interest obligations
declined. In the 1980s, the FCC dropped the Fairness
Doctrine, which required broadcasters to air both sides
of controversial issues. Educational programming also
waned. In the 1990s the spread of cell phones created
huge new demand for airwaves. Instead of giving
frequencies to cell phone companies for free, Congress
wisely chose to auction them, raising billions of dollars
for the federal treasury. Broadcasters, however, lobbied
hard for more free spectrum, and in 1996 Congress gave it
to them, ostensibly for digital TV. This was the $70
billion giveaway I described earlier. Today, digital
technology makes it possible for “smart”
receivers to pick out only the signals they need. Signal
interference thus is, or soon could be, a thing of the
past — which makes exclusive licenses unnecessary.
The airwaves could be an open access commons with
virtually no capacity limits, a possibility that makes
broadcasters, phone, and cable companies extremely
anxious.
Some broadcasters have another idea. They want to
privatize the airwaves, with ownership assigned to them.
Under this plan, the free licenses they received for
digital TV would become permanent entitlements usable for
any purpose. Broadcasters could then sell their
entitlements to cell phone companies and pocket the
windfall. The big winners would be General Electric
(NBC), Disney (ABC), and Rupert Murdoch (Fox). Other
beneficiaries would include Pat Robertson (Christian
Broadcasting Network) and Lowell “Bud” Paxson
(Pax TV). When a reporter asked Paxson why he should
receive millions of dollars for selling the
public’s airwaves, he replied: “I was a
farmer and I got lucky. Now people want to build a mall
on my farm. God bless America.”
If Congress treated the airwaves as a common asset, it
would lease most of them at market rates for limited
terms to the highest bidders. The billions of dollars
thus raised could buy free airtime for political
candidates, fund noncommercial radio and TV, and help
sustain the arts.
Alternatively, Congress could turn the airwaves into
an open access commons like roads and streets. Using
technologies like wi-fi (wireless fidelity), everyone
could enjoy high-speed Internet access for almost
nothing. As of early 2006, nearly 150 U.S. cities were
deploying or planning public wi-fi networks. These
efforts are hampered by the fact that the frequencies
allotted to wi-fi don’t travel as far, or penetrate
buildings as well, as do the frequencies given to
broadcasters. A bill to open unused TV channels for wi-fi
has been introduced by a group of senators, but it faces
stiff opposition from broadcasters, telephone, and cable
companies. ...
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