What will the Boston television frequencies be after February

[Scott Fybush]

Robert S Chase wrote:
> I'm still trying to understand this. From what I see some of the low VHF
> stations intend to stay on their low channels and some intend to go up to
> the UHF channel. What is going to happen to the vacated channels. Are they
> now going to be available to be assigned to other TV stations. For 
> instance,
> can channel 4 (WBZ) be gotten by new station for DTV operation? If they are
> going to be assigned to some other service, what will those other services
> be and how will that affect the tuner/conversion boxes when someone goes
> over them, i.e., will public safety now be receivable on one's TV for
> example?

Channels 52-69 will be removed from broadcast TV service and have 
already been reallocated for other uses. Anything using those 
frequencies will be digital, and will be using modulation and coding 
incompatible with DTV receivers, so the most you'd see on an analog TV 
tuned to those channels would be snow, just as you do now when you tune 
an analog TV to a channel occupied by a DTV signal.

The FCC isn't currently taking ANY applications for new TV stations, 
digital or analog. It's expected to open a window someday - probably no 
earlier than 2010, if that - for applicants interested in filing for new 
  DTV licenses.

Low-band V, however, is a bad place to be for DTV, especially in urban 
areas. (Stations like WLBZ are taking a stab at keeping low-band V for 
digital for two reasons - low power levels and therefore low power 
bills, and the hope, rational or not, that they'll retain good coverage 
of their very large viewing area by staying on channel 2.)

s