REC Pushes Back Against 5G Broadcast Model
Advocacy group urges cautious approach.
WASHINGTON, June 3, 2025 – REC Networks criticized HC2 Broadcasting Holdings’ plan to allow low-power television stations in the UHF band to provide encrypted datacasting services without a traditional free TV service.
The small broadcast station advocacy group argued in a June 1 Federal Communications Commission filing that “REC cannot support HC2’s alternative proposal that the entire 6 MHz channel be used for ancillary and supplementary services. By making the entire 6 MHz channel completely unavailable to the general public, the station would no longer be a broadcast station, but instead, could be considered a common carrier in the fixed service.”
HC2, the largest LPTV owner in the U.S. under President and CEO Les Levi, asked the FCC in March to allow LPTV stations to adopt a datacasting standard rather than ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV). Under this proposed framework, television channels could be used entirely for data transmission, and would not be required to be available to the general public.
REC argued that adopting such a standard could leave rural areas without access to public television.
The filing comes as television stations across the U.S. are facing a shrinking customer base and stiff competition from streaming services. Many in the industry have pushed the FCC to relax its regulations, including National Association of Broadcasters President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt.
