A consortium of advocates for the low-power television (LPTV) industry have asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to consider a voluntary transition that will allow them to use their broadcast spectrum for 5G wireless data and video transmissions.
The petition for rulemaking was filed by XGN, X1 Mobile and Tyche Media, the licensee of experimental 5G Broadcast station WCRN-LD (Channel 30) in Boston. Frank Copsidas, who leads the LPTV Broadcasters Association, is asking the FCC to amend Part 74 of its rules to allow low-power television stations to use the 3GPP 5G Broadcast standard as an alternative to ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0.
The proposal comes as the broadcast industry continues to debate the future of low-power television, particularly for stations that may not see a clear financial case for converting to ATSC 3.0.
Copsidas framed the filing around public service obligations and public safety, saying 5G Broadcast can give low-power stations a more efficient technology path while maintaining free local broadcasting.
The request is similar in some respects to a 2025 petition from HC2 Broadcasting, but Copsidas said his proposal differs in key ways.
“HC2’s proposal contemplates exclusive datacasting with no continuing linear free-to-air obligation and no dedicated public-safety capacity,” Copsidas said. By contrast, he said his petition requires “a high-quality linear free-to-air stream and permanently reserves substantial bandwidth for public safety, including first-responder applications capable of saving lives.”
Copsidas said the distinction is central to the public interest case.
“One prioritizes private data delivery; the other prioritizes the public interest that broadcasters are required to serve,” he said.
Under the proposal, an LPTV station electing 5G Broadcast would be required to transmit at least one linear free-to-air broadcast stream at a minimum resolution of 720p. After that requirement is met, at least 50 percent of remaining capacity in the station’s 6 MHz channel would have to be devoted to public safety solutions. The petition also says the public safety allocation could not fall below 2 MHz.
The proposal would exclude LPTV stations that qualify for mandatory carriage under the Communications Act or FCC rules, a provision designed to avoid imposing additional burdens on cable, satellite and other pay television distributors.
Copsidas said experimental testing at WCRN-LD has included first-responder applications. “Saving lives is the highest form of local public service,” he said.
The filing says Copsidas’ companies have worked across the 5G Broadcast transmission chain, including exciters, core design, receivers and field testing in the United States and European Union.
Copsidas also argued that ATSC 3.0 was developed primarily for full-power broadcasters with high-power, high-tower facilities. He said its cost structure, intellectual property fees and technical assumptions reflect full-power television economics.
“Imposing that framework on LPTV stations creates a mismatch with both the service’s historical purpose and its physical deployment characteristics,” Copsidas told the FCC.
