All posts by SBE National Office

Local News

The SBE Ennes Workshop at the 2023 NAB Show

The SBE Ennes Workshop is the traditional kick-off for the NAB Show. In 2023, it will span two days on April 14 and 15. It will also be a stand-alone event with separate registration from the convention.

There are two separate educational tracks: RF 101 Boot Camp and NextGen Broadcast. It’s all happening at the Westgate Resort, so it’s convenient to arrive two days early and attend the SBE Ennes Workshop before the exhibits open.

Registration for two days packed with information is only $199. When you register for the SBE Ennes Workshop, you will receive a code for $150 off your NAB Show conference registration. Get all the details and register now.

The NextGen Broadcast track also serves as an ideal preparation for the SBE ATSC3 Specialist Certification exam. A special SBE ATSC3 Certification exam opportunity will be offered following the session on April 15. If you are eligible to take the SBE Specialist exam, you must also register (separately) by March 13.

National

SBE Elects First Woman President

New SBE President Andrea Cummis

The Society of Broadcast Engineers, the association for broadcast and multimedia technology professionals, announces the results of the 2021 election for the national board of directors. Andrea Cummis, CBT, CTO, was elected as the society’s president. Cummis is the chief technical officer of PBS39/WLVT-TV, in Bethlehem, PA. She is the first woman to be elected to hold the office. She is a member of SBE Chapter 15 in New York City.

Regarding the election, President-elect Cummis said, “I look forward to serving the Society and its members. President Wayne Pecena has led the society through an interesting and unusual time, and as everyone looks forward to a return to normal, I’m pleased that the society is still growing and thriving. I’m eager to work with the Board of Directors and the membership so we can expand our membership and outreach to the media professionals among us.”

Continue reading SBE Elects First Woman President →
Local News

Stations Should Note Reason for IPAWS April 26 RWT Failure

When FEMA issues an IPAWS test or alert, it includes a “signature certificate.” This operates similar to a password for accessing different sites or files on a computer. In the case of a message from FEMA, a message without a correct signature the EAS device should ignore the message.

On April 26, 2021, the Required Weekly Test (RWT) from IPAWS was transmitted with an incorrect signature. The test messages had a mismatch between the digest inside the message, and the digest computed by receivers. This is a part of the validation for an alert, and checking it is required by FCC Rule 11.56(c): “EAS Participants shall configure their systems to reject all CAP-formatted EAS messages that include an invalid digital signature.”

Continue reading Stations Should Note Reason for IPAWS April 26 RWT Failure →
National

SBE Files FCC Comments on Flex Use of 3.7 – 4.2 GHz

The SBE filed comments on Oct. 29, 2018, with the FCC in response to the notice of proposed rulemaking (FCC 18-91), released July 13, 2018. That notice sought comment on various proposals for transitioning all or part of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band for flexible use, terrestrial mobile spectrum, and explores options for more efficient and intensive fixed use of the same band, all while protecting incumbent C-Band satellite earth stations from harmful interference.

The SBE comments constitute a counterproposal that offers a reasonable alternative to dividing the 3.7-4.2 GHz band, a reverse auction, or other action that would not protect incumbent C-band receive-only earth stations. The SBE suggests that, given the huge number of C-band registrations since the opening of the window (now reportedly greater than 16,000), the FCC’s initial premise that the C-Band could be shared with 5G as an overlay was simply wrong.

Recognizing that the European 5G proposal is 3.4-3.8 GHz, and since that offers 1 MHz of overlap with the U.S. proposal, the U.S, should adopt the European allocation, put the commercial broadband providers in the 3.4-3.7 GHz band and use the small overlap segment with C-band for local, private 5G networks critical for next-generation manufacturing and industrial applications. That is actually workable with C-band in the 100 MHz overlap segment. It leaves the vast majority of the spectrum, 3.8-4.2 GHz, intact with no 5G.

In contrast to other proposals, nothing is lost for current C-band users with the SBE plan. 5G moves into military radar spectrum, which was already designated years ago for broadband reallocation as part of the National Broadband Plan.

Read the SBE filing. 

 

National

SBE National Re-elects Jim Leifer as President

(By Chris Scherer, SBE Communications Director) The Society of Broadcast Engineers, the association for broadcast and multimedia technology professionals, announces the results of the 2018 election for the national board of directors. Jim Leifer, CPBE, was re-elected as the society’s president. Leifer is senior manager of broadcast operations at American Tower Corporation, Andover, MA. Continue reading SBE National Re-elects Jim Leifer as President →