The NAB is suing the FCC over an upcoming airwave auction

On Monday the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) filed a petition asking a federal court to object to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) rules for an upcoming auction of TV airwaves to cellular providers. Although lawsuits challenging FCC actions are relatively common, if the court sides with the NAB, the 2015 spectrum auction could be delayed and promises of improvements to cellular networks could prove illusory.

The National Association of Broadcasters filed a lawsuit on Monday arguing the Federal Communications Commission’s plan to auction off airwaves next year would hurt TV stations in both their coverage areas and their wallets. The FCC is planning to hold its first-ever spectrum reverse auction next year, where TV stations in large cities will take bids to give up their airwaves so they can be resold to wireless carriers to meet the exploding demand for mobile broadband. Stations that take part in the auction can either go out of business or move to another channel that uses fewer airwaves. The NAB’s lawsuit challenges the FCC’s auction rules, arguing they don’t go far enough to protect broadcasters that don’t participate in the voluntary proceeding. The NAB has been adamant that stations that don’t take part should not have their coverage area reduced, or be forced to pay out of pocket for the expense of moving their broadcast signal to a new frequency, a process called repacking.