Multimedia Woes

The FCC recently announced that they are removing all radio frequencies (RF) in the 700mhz range. As of today it will still be illegal for any churches to use these frequencies after Tuesday, February 17, 2009. I met with our multimedia committee to hear reports of their investigations into this. It appears that 8 of our 16 wireless microphones will be useless once this RF grab goes into effect. As of now, the FCC has not announced if they will move the start date to June (following the change in date for the digital switch) or remove them from public use on Tuesday as planned.

Our church will be able to get by without those 8 microphones, but it makes me wonder how small churches will manage. Some companies are offering trade-in rebates, but not nearly enough to cover the expense for many smaller churches who will need to replace their equipment.

How did we get to this point. Remember that the FCC decided that all of America needed to move toward digital broadcasting instead of the analog that those without cable or satellite currently get? The FCC received millions in kickbacks from the companies like Sony, RCA, etc. through their lobbyists. After that, the FCC agrees to pay up to $40 for TV converter boxes that are sold by these same companies. The FCC gets a big budget increase to cover this cost in the last few budget years. The FCC then gets almost $1 billion in the stimulus bill congress just passed to pay for these boxes (enough to pay for more than 20 million converter boxes). How many families still use only antennas to get TV?

It doesn't end there. The FCC, which already gets money every time you buy a cell phone, install a phone line at home, connect to cable, order Dish TV, or use any of these items at home, has also been making a fortune selling the same RF frequencies that they are removing from public use. Who bought these frequencies in auction? The National Guard (yes the government makes the government pay for government owned services), Emergency First Responders (same again) and cell phone companies are the primary new owners.

Praying that your church, school, playhouse, concert hall, etc., will not be overly taxed (sorry for the pun) with this issue.

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