CTIA – The Wireless Association, together with two television broadcasters in Los Angeles, has announced the launch of a pilot project that will test to see whether channel-sharing is a feasible way to clear DTV channels for eventual use by mobile wireless carriers. The experiment is intended to demonstrate the degree to which broadcast channels can be re-packed within existing spectrum without degrading the quality of their broadcast signals or changing the manner in which viewers can tune-in to the channels on television sets. The two stations involved in the test are KLCS, a public broadcaster and PBS affiliate, and KJLA, a small multilingual programmer. Specifically, KJLA broadcasts 10 different signals using Channel 41, eight of them in Vietnamese, one in Mandarin and one in English and Spanish. Meanwhile, KLCS broadcasts four digital channels using Channel 49. Since the conversion to digital broadcasting from analog, in which each television station is allotted six megahertz of spectrum, broadcasters have been able to use their allotment more efficiently and even broadcast multiple signals in a single channel band. When the pilot test concludes, both stations will go back to broadcasting on their normal frequencies. The Los Angeles pilot project is not sponsored by the FCC, but an agency spokesperson says the Commission, which is gearing up for the 2015 incentive auction’s “once-in-a-lifetime financial opportunity …welcome[s] this pilot project, and look[s] forward to reviewing it closely.”
