Addition of public safety in analog TV channel band could prove difficult

The two sides sparring over how to use spectrum previously reserved for TV broadcasters have come to agreement on at least one thing – that the upper analog TV frequencies shouldn’t be used for both public safety applications and broadcasting services. Both broadcasters and the wireless industry have told Industry Canada that despite U.S. demands for harmonization, spectrum-sharing is premature at this point, and not technically feasible. Writing in response to Industry Canada’s proposals for adding mobile services on a co-primary basis in the 746-806 MHz band (DGTP-004-01), wireless companies and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) urged the department to delay implementation of spectrum sharing until broadcasters complete their transition from the upper analog channels to DTV. Writing for the CAB, consulting engineer Wayne Stacey reports that "the potential for using TV Channels 60-69 for mobile services will be very limited in Canada, until such time as this band has been vacated by television subsequent to a successful transition to DTV throughout North America. "In Central Canada, where the demand for new mobile spectrum is expected to be greatest, there is virtually no possibility of using any of the ten TV channels in the interim. Even when very minimal mobile base operating parameters are assumed, the protection of co-channel and adjacent-channel television allotments and assignments would require that mobile operations be confined essentially to non-urban areas in the Windsor-Quebec corridor." That assessment meets with no opposition from the wireless community. Bell Mobility agrees that the limited amount of spectrum available will not allow for the introduction of both public safety and commercial mobile services in the band. "Bell Mobility respectfully submits that, in such circumstances, the priority should be to meet the needs of public safety first and foremost," Bell Mobility writes. The wireless industry also recognizes that this may be a tricky proposition given the number of DTV allotments in the desired channels. Rogers Communications Inc. points out that in the United States, very few DTV allotments have been made in the upper analog TV channels and it has sufficient spectrum to implement both public safety and commercial mobile operations. In Canada, however, that is not the case. The company indicates that 80 analog assignments and 448 future digital assignments will be found in this band, thus not leaving enough capacity to offer both types of services in the 700 MHz band. Further, the department’s proposal to encourage broadcasters, with DTV allotments in channels 60-69, to apply early for channels in the 59 and below range is also not supported by the wireless industry. The Radio Advisory Board of Canada (RABC) notes that "… any regulatory move that appears to give preference to early occupancy of a limited number of preferred channels will inevitably force competitive public hearings by the CRTC for these channels." Still, neither side may get their wish for exclusive access to the spectrum in question. While public safety operators are becoming increasingly demanding for new spectrum in congested urban areas, broadcasters aren’t prepared to vacate the property within the same time-frame as their American counterparts – a key reason why the department issued its proposals. "The issue of allowing mobile services to have co-primary allocation status with TV broadcasting channels 60-69 has risen in Canada primarily because such action has already been taken in the United States," the CAB writes. "The CAB suggests that, had the U.S. not already taken this step, it is extremely unlikely that Canada would have initiated such a policy proposal on its own."

Addition of public safety in analog TV channel band could prove difficult

News | 10/15/2001 4:00 am EDT

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