Federal Communications Commission FCC 20-181 STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER BRENDAN CARR Re: Promoting Broadcast Internet Innovation through ATSC 3.0, MB Docket No. 20-145. Just yesterday, I had the opportunity to address this year’s India Mobile Congress—remotely, of course—on the future of ATSC 3.0 and how Broadcast Internet services can support the delivery of 5G and other high-speed Internet services in India. Our two countries enjoy a strong bond of friendship and cooperation, and I was honored to join our regulatory counterparts to discuss the future of the broadcast airwaves. With India’s “mobile first” society and its growing demand for mobile video, its traditional mobile networks must add capacity. Indeed, India is expected to grow to more than 850 million wireless users, which will put an incredible strain on existing capacity as video content is streamed to more and more devices. And there is an urgent need to extend next-gen Internet services to the many rural and remote parts of India. In short, India faces many of the same connectivity challenges that we see in our own country. And we are both looking to innovative technologies to help get the job done. Whether you call it datacasting, Broadcast Internet, or 5G Broadcasting, as they do in India, this is where powerful broadcast spectrum—enhanced by ATSC 3.0—can be put to work to meet the exploding demand for high-speed Internet services. This new technology presents a terrific opportunity for broadcasters to enhance their traditional over-the-air services, while simultaneously offering next generation wireless services. I came away from the conference even more enthusiastic about the future of ATSC 3.0. There is now a global recognition of our work here at the FCC to ensure that broadcasters will have a seat at the table in the next-gen wireless ecosystem and that broadcast spectrum can leverage its inherent strengths to compete in this market. Those strengths include wide-area coverage over low-band spectrum and an efficient one-to-many architecture. Indeed, this spectrum is particularly well suited to bringing advanced wireless services to typically underserved rural and remote communities. For 5G, it could help augment coverage or add capacity by shifting data off cellular networks. As we look to push increasingly more data to the edge of the network, for both fixed and mobile services, broadcast spectrum could provide one way of moving all that data in an efficient and cost-effective manner. And as the record shows, the vision for ATSC 3.0 doesn’t stop there. Take autonomous vehicles. Broadcast spectrum could be used to send out targeted map and traffic data or provide large, fleet-wide software updates—quickly and efficiently. For IoT, smart ag, and telemedicine applications, broadcast TV’s low-band spectrum could provide an efficient means of communicating with devices over wide areas. And now, as seemingly every part of our lives migrates online—work, school, FCC Open Meetings—broadcasters have a tremendous opportunity to serve their communities in new and exciting ways. For example, in addition to providing invaluable programming over the air, broadcasters could also deliver lessons to children attending school virtually; provide job training materials for those whose livelihoods may have vanished; or combined with other spectrum to provide broadband connectivity to those who cannot connect today. With home Internet connections as important as ever, we should give broadcasters the freedom to use their spectrum in ever more innovative ways. Given this vast potential, it is critical that we identify the appropriate regulatory environment to enable this efficient, high-capacity spectrum to come to market quickly. As recognized by regulators in India, our actions to date in the U.S. have helped to do just that, and I am pleased that today’s item will do even more to promote innovation and ensure that the FCC’s regulations do not hold back the introduction and growth of new competitive offerings. NCE stations, in particular, have been at the forefront of datacasting under ATSC 1.0, and our actions today will allow them to enhance and expand these offerings while continuing to provide the educational programming that is the core of their public service mission. I would like to thank Chairman Pai for the opportunity to help lead the FCC’s work in this proceeding. He has long supported the deployment of ATSC 3.0 and the consumer benefits and innovations it will support. And the approach we’ve taken is working. Broadcasters are making great progress in their NextGenTV offerings—even during the pandemic—and many are already exploring ways to support Broadcast Internet services. Finally, I would like to thank the staff of the Media Bureau for their expert work on this item and throughout this entire proceeding. It has been a great privilege to work directly with them to help this exciting new technology flourish. I look forward to continuing to promote the enhanced services made possible by ATSC 3.0, and our decision today has my support. 2