Former FCC Commissioner Harold Furchgott-Roth Supports 'ZoneCasting' FM Booster Geotargeted Programming Proposal In Letter To FCC

Furchgott-Roth

The back-and-forth on the proposal at the FCC to allow geotargeted programming using GEOBROADCAST SOLUTIONS' "ZoneCasting" FM booster platform had another party weighing in with a letter to the Commission, this time former FCC Commissioner HAROLD FURCHGOTT-ROTH, now a director of the CENTER FOR THE ECONOMICS OF THE INTERNET at the HUDSON INSTITUTE, supporting the proposal along with his colleague KIRK ARNER.

In the letter, FURCHGOTT-ROTH and ARNER write, “we find that enabling new technologies to compete in the marketplace that do not impair existing services benefits consumers," concluding that the proposal does not impair existing services and thus passes muster. "(A)llowing these new technologies to compete in the marketplace on a voluntary basis," FURCHGOTT-ROTH and ARNER add, "would be consistent with the Commission’s objective to remove competitive barriers to entry to the benefit of American communications consumers.”

Meanwhile, Rep. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK) took the opposite side on the issue, sending his own letter to FCC Chairwoman JESSICA ROSENWORCEL expressing concern that the two recent tests of GBS' platform "do nothing to calm" concerns that the boosters would interfere with stations' signals.

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