FCC Freezes TV Allotments to Study Rules

The Federal Communications Commission voted today to freeze allotments of television channels in Los Angeles and 29 other major metropolitan areas while it studies whether the current TV technical standards, most written in 1941, are outdated.

The freeze, which also affects construction permit applications, took effect today. It will not apply to changes by existing stations or applications already on file.

“Significant technological advancement in broadcast television appears every generation or so,” FCC Chairman Dennis R. Patrick said. “Today, we officially embark on a course which may ultimately result in yet another generation of television technology.”

High Definition TV

One of the advances Patrick alluded to is high-definition TV, which scans nearly twice the number of horizontal lines that make up a picture on a conventional set. Other advances, the commission said, range from fairly modest improvements to revolutionary changes.

“The government shouldn’t be standing in the way of new technology, it should be encouraging it,” Commissioner Patricia Dennis said.

The commission also agreed to seek industry comment on the status of advanced television systems and determine what role the government should play in promoting their growth.

Standards From 1941

The body of television technical standards now in effect was devised in 1941. The FCC said those standards reflect the technological limits of the early days of television and are considered today to limit video and audio quality.

The FCC said it also planned to look at the separation between UHF channel assignments, which were set up so the signal of one television station did not interfere with another. The result is that there are many unalloted UHF channels.