CAB and CCTA express concerns over Industry Canada’s spectrum policy revision

Canada's cable and broadcast lobby groups are concerned that the federal government's proposals for revising the country's spectrum policy framework could spell bad news for their members. The Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) and Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) warn in comments to Ottawa's Revision to the 1992 Spectrum Policy Framework for Canada document (DGTP-004-02) that certain provisions could severely compromise their members' access to affordable spectrum.The CCTA suggests in its September 30 comments that the government should take a balanced approach to regulating the industry. It says it needs to take into account the economic impacts of its policies while at the same time letting market forces dictate the evolution of the market.The cable association notes that small rural cable operators, which use very high capacity microwave to transmit signals, could be severely affected by the department's current licence fee structure. This is an issue that the wireless industry has been concerned about for some time."The microwave facilities are the only technology that cable operators have to transport the local, regional and extra-regional broadcast signals to Canadians living in those communities. The licence fees associated with the facilities are prohibitively expensive and are quickly becoming a barrier to sustaining their business and service," the CCTA writes.It points out that while the government must take into account the socio-economic elements and the competitive environment in which the spectrum is being used, it must also balance its policies against the move to more market-driven forces. In this regard, the CCTA wants the department to consider the elimination of the spectrum aggregation limit that any telecommunications or broadcasting undertaking can hold at any one time."Rather than imposing barriers that limit the growth potential of companies, government should rely on market forces to ultimately regulate the amount of spectrum acquired by individual carriers. An increased reliance on market forces will also improve the financial viability of Canadian companies by allowing them to operate with efficiencies and economies of scale and scope," the CCTA argues.As the CCTA supports increased reliance on market forces, it also supports a lifting of foreign ownership restrictions on telecommunications and broadcast carriers. "In order for Canadian companies to meet the challenges to be innovation leaders, a more favourable environment is required in terms of flexibility to raise capital. Lifting foreign ownership restrictions would foster increased investment, creating incentives to expand digital networks and broadband deployment, as well as the development of integrated IP services."The cable lobby also tries to convince Industry Canada that its spectrum policies should be more proactive in fighting illegal use of the airwaves. It points out that the Canadian broadcasting industry is a prime example of illegal activities going unpunished."Increasing theft of satellite services (the 'black market') and unauthorized use of U.S. services in Canada (the 'gray market') is having a disruptive impact on Canada's broadcasting distribution sector," the CCTA writes. "Vigorous enforcement of the prohibitions against the gray market and black market will help to stabilize the industry and allow distributors, programming services, producers and creators to have confidence that they will not be competing unfairly against unauthorized suppliers or those who are stealing the intellectual property of others."In its comments, the CAB proposes several "broad picture" issues that should be considered as the department addresses new spectrum management policies. The broadcasters lobby group fears that public safety issues will supplant any concerns broadcasters have about the transition to digital TV. It indicates that as the Federal Communications Commission mandated the switch to DTV by 2006, the department seems to have taken the same approach with potentially adding a mobile allocation to the upper analog TV band."As recently as 2001, TV broadcasters were being assured that the DTV Allotment Plan, released after extensive industry and public consultation, would remain in force until after the DTV transition has been completed. Now they are being told that policy imperatives with respect to public safety services require much earlier abandonment by TV of certain TV spectrum that had been an integral part of the DTV rollout plan for Canada," the CAB writes.In this light, it is also concerned that sharing its scarce resources with non-broadcasting services may have a negative impact on its members' operations. "As many of Canada's farmers have learned the hard way, mixed uses of adjacent properties by widely divergent interests simply do not work very well. Nobody wants to live in a residential neighbourhood that has been built next door to a farm."Broadcasters consider that spectrum sharing with non-broadcasting services will inevitably raise similar issues. Specifically, they do not wish to be told, after sharing rules have been developed and non-broadcasting facilities have been implemented, that their high-power operations need to be reduced, filtered or otherwise adapted to accommodate poorly performing equipment used by those who share their bands," the CAB notes.While the CAB makes some valid points, the association seems to reach past the scope of the consultation by demanding specific recognition as an "essential radiocommunication category with respect to safety and national security." The CAB also argues that the department isn't taking the general public into account when developing spectrum policies."There is a tendency for this to happen especially with respect to the use of broadcasting spectrum, where only the originating portion of the radiocommunication link (the Broadcasting Transmitting Undertaking) remains licensed by the government. But radiocommunication in the true sense exists only when there are two ends to the circuit," the CAB writes. "A transmission that is not received by anyone is not 'communication' at all; rather, it is simply a tree falling in the forest that no one hears."

CAB and CCTA express concerns over Industry Canada’s spectrum policy revision

News | October 15, 2002

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