Yesterday, the FCC’s Incentive Auction Task Force announced that it was making available two pieces of software that interested parties can use to conduct repacking simulations in preparation for the FCC’s Incentive Auction.
The first software program is a Constraint Generator that creates pairwise interference constraint files that pre-calculate all the channels to which a station could be assigned. The second is an open-source Feasibility Checker that will determine whether such a reassignment is feasible. Together, these software programs are designed to simulate the repacking approach adopted by the Commission in the Incentive Auction R&O, and along with previously released TVStudy software, will allow parties to perform feasibility checks similar to those the Commission plans to use in the upcoming reverse auction. The Commission noted, however, that these software releases are the product of ongoing staff work and have not yet been finalized.
The software has been made available to the public on the FCC’s LEARN website, with a link to the Constraint Generator here, and the Feasibility checker here.