Pelmorex to reapply to CRTC for implementation of All Alert Channel

Pelmorex Communications Inc plans to reapply to the CRTC for a nationwide emergency weather warning system, after having its initial bid turned down earlier this year. The company, which operates The Weather Network and MétéoMédia, is currently in discussions with the cable industry and broadcasters to resolve the commission's concerns with its previous proposal for an All Channel Alert (ACA) - Decision 2001-123. "We're pretty confident we can address the concerns. Our working assumption is that we will reapply," says Paul Temple, Pelmorex senior VP of corporate development. Environment Canada has been pushing for a national alert service for four years, but disagreements between broadcasters, specialty channels and the cable industry over technology and costs has resulted in little progress to date (CCR, April 30/97). Rolling out an ACA system in digital is something the CRTC wants to see in a revised application. It's also asking that the various industry players agree on whatever new proposal is put forward. "There are technical improvements to be resolved, especially digital compatibility," says Michel Milot, manager for emergency telecommunications at Industry Canada. The department has re-convened its ad hoc committee, comprised of representatives from Pelmorex, the cable and broadcasting industries, and Environment Canada, to resolve the barriers to introducing an ACA system. The group held one meeting at the end of June and is expected to meet again in September. Temple says converting the system from analog to digital isn't insurmountable. "I don't think there will be a problem in changing the system for digital," he explains, "but there's still a lot going on there, so that will require some more homework. It's more a situation of what's the best way, it's not an unsolvable problem." Pelmorex is proposing to manage the ACA system, but first it needs the CRTC to approve an amendment to its licence that would make the service available on cable systems across the country. Viewers would then receive crawl messages along the bottom of their TV screens alerting them of an impending weather crisis in their area. In the U.S., cable operators are required by law to carry such a service. The weather network will also have to do a better job at explaining to the regulator why it needs 13 cents more every month from cable subscribers to pay for the service. Two cents of that amount over 60 months would have gone to cable operators to cover their costs. In its decision, however, the CRTC wasn't convinced that such a high fee was warranted, particularly since an ACA service wouldn't face ongoing costs to obtain or produce programming. The CRTC also noted that warning messages must be appropriate to each area. This could complicate things for interconnected cable systems that receive signals at a common headend but serve different regions. It also makes it challenging for direct-to-home satellite distributors who operate on a national footprint. The Canadian Cable Television Association opposed the initial proposal, saying the Pelmorex-designed and -manufactured computer equipment needed at each headend to make the system work would be costly to implement (CCR, Aug. 17/00). The Canadian Association of Broadcasters indicated that some broadcasters were already issuing warnings and that Pelmorex's ACA would interfere with their efforts (CCR, July 19/00).

Pelmorex to reapply to CRTC for implementation of All Alert Channel

News | 08/30/2001 4:00 am EDT

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