Reply Comments from the Canadian Association of Broadcasters

Transcription

1 March 26, 2015 Reply Comments from the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Re: Canada Gazette, Part 1, Notice No. SLPB Consultation on Repurposing the 600 MHz Band, publication date January 3, The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (the CAB ) is the national voice of Canada s private broadcasters, representing the vast majority of Canadian programming services, including private radio, specialty and pay and over-the-air ( OTA ) television services. 2. The CAB appreciates the opportunity to provide reply comments to the submissions received by the Department regarding Canada Gazette Notice No. SLPB Consultation on Repurposing the 600 MHz Band ( Consultation ). As the voice of private commercial local television stations in Canada, our members play a critical role in the economic and social fabric of the television system in Canada. Private conventional television broadcasters deliver millions of viewing hours each year (in excess of 177 million for English-language markets and over 70 million for French-language markets, for a total of over 247 million hours) In the CAB response to the above Consultation, the CAB recommended that any repurposing of the 600 MHz Band should provide for the following; a. Reimbursement to broadcasters to cover 100% of all costs associated with this process as a key objective; b. A fund should be created from spectrum auction proceeds to support local television; c. Compensation to broadcasters willing to relinquish channels or reduce their use of spectrum; d. Broadcasters should be given sufficient time to apply for, design and construct new television transmission facilities in all OTA television markets, taking into account the many factors not in their control. A minimum notification period of 39 months, similar to the US, may be a practical target as long as there is flexibility to address exceptional cases and unavoidable delays. The largest television broadcasting groups may not be able to complete changes to dozens of transmitter facilities in that timeframe; and e. The design objectives for a new television allotment plan should be expanded and reprioritized as listed below: i. Maintain continuity of service and minimize disruption to viewers receiving OTA television services; ii. Confirm available channels for all TV stations in Canada; 1 CRTC Communications Monitoring Report (2014), Section 4.2, pages

2 iii. Optimize television coverage and operating parameters; and iv. Ensure spectral efficiency. 4. There is overwhelming support from respondents highlighting the continued importance and value to Canadians of over the air television to serve local communities. Reimbursement of Costs 5. A large number of respondents support the proposal that television broadcasters be reimbursed for all costs associated with repurposing the 600 MHz Band. 6. Submissions from Bell, Rogers, Shaw, Small Market Independent Television Stations (SMITS) Coalition and RNC Média support that local broadcasters must be compensated for all costs incurred by them in vacating the 600 MHz spectrum in order to accommodate the plan to reallocate the spectrum to mobile uses. Shaw, in its response, has provided a non-exhaustive list to illustrate the extent and types of costs that TV stations will incur to change channels. 7. The Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) has included a recommendation in paragraph 60 of its response that Broadcasters whose channels are reassigned should be compensated from the auction proceeds for their costs. CHCO-TV and Independent Community TV also commented that relocation costs should not be borne by broadcasters. 8. Friends of Canadian Broadcasting has noted in its response, unlike in the US, there is no benefit to broadcasters, only increased cost technical costs to transition, a cost from potential lost coverage, and a cost to market new channel allotments, and states further that In the meantime, Industry Canada should ensure that its proposals don t make it any worse for Canadian OTA broadcasting, by at a minimum, compensating for the full costs of any reuse and repacking of the 600 MHz band. 9. Submissions from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), the Forum for Policy and Research in Communications (FPRC) and Wind Mobile also acknowledge the need for reimbursement of costs to broadcasters. 10. At least one respondent made the claim that the cost to change channel for existing DTV stations will be low. The CAB would like to stress that this is an incorrect assumption. Some existing DTV stations will be impacted with substantial costs if required to change channel. The requirements vary widely and must be analyzed on a case by case basis. Some single station transmitter sites may have to replace a narrow band antenna, which may then trigger additional tower reinforcing costs. Some multi-station installations, where more than one station is combined into a broadband antenna, may need to undergo significant redesign and reconstruction costs. For example, the UHF DTV transmitter and antenna installations at the CN Tower in Toronto will cost more than $1 million per station to change their channels of operation. Local Television Fund 11. Several respondents have proposed that, in addition to reimbursement, a fund should be established to support local television. 12. Bell and Rogers have commented that a local programming fund should be established to maintain the viability of OTA television services.

3 13. Similarly, PIAC and FPRC have recommended that a fund could be created to support local television. Compensation to Broadcasters 14. The CAB commented in its response to the Consultation that the repacking of TV stations to repurpose the 600 MHz Band may require that some stations reduce coverage, accept greater interference, change band of operation, or relinquish channels. Any of these factors reduce the ability of a station to access viewing audiences and effectively reduce the station s use of spectrum. Stations should be fairly compensated for this reduction in addition to the reimbursement of costs and funding to support local television. 15. In paragraph 7 of its response, Shaw states that, broadcasters should be compensated for any net loss in spectrum, signal quality, broadcast coverage or any other outcome of the repacking that negatively impacts OTA viewership or rights to signal substitution and mandatory carriage. 16. Depending on the final decisions of the FCC and the outcome of the US Incentive Auction, there may be risk of interference from mobile services to television stations in some regions. 17. To illustrate an example of how Canadian TV stations could be impacted, Sasktel in paragraph 13 of its response states, there could be serious interference issues trying to coordinate the operation of dissimilar services such as broadcasting and mobile broadband in the same band in areas along the Canada-US border. 18. The CAB notes that the National Association of Broadcasters in the US submitted comments to this Consultation in Canada. The NAB has stated that, Presently, the FCC is pursuing a band plan that would allow variation across markets, with wireless carriers operating in some markets on channels that are used by broadcasters in other markets. As a result, under the FCC s current proposed approach, broadcast stations repacked during the auction could be assigned anywhere in the 600 MHz band in the downlink or uplink portions of the 600 MHz band or even in the duplex gap. For this reason the NAB has advocated for a consistent U.S. nationwide band plan for both broadcasting and wireless operations to minimize interference between services. 19. It is imperative that compensation be provided to broadcasters for greater interference or loss of coverage as a result of repurposing the 600 MHz Band. Timing 20. The CAB has stressed that sufficient time must be provided to complete channel changes to hundreds of transmitter facilities. The complexity of the task varies widely from station to station and cannot begin until Industry Canada develops a new DTV Allotment Plan, which cannot be known until completion of the US Incentive Auction. Similarly, time must be allowed for the Department and CRTC to review and approve each application for a technical change in facilities. 21. The CAB has recommended that a minimum notification period of 39 months may be sufficient for many televisions stations, but that flexibility is required to account for the cumulative impact of multiple simultaneous projects. 22. A few respondents to the Consultation have recommended that the notification period to displace TV stations from the 600 MHz Band should be one or one and a half years. The CAB would like to reinforce that such a short notification period is unrealistic.

4 23. The CAB opposes the recommendations made by COGECO Cable Inc. that TV stations should be given a notification period of only one year. Such deadlines are simply not realistic and they come from entities that do not operate conventional television stations and consequently are not familiar with operational and technical realities of OTA stations. 24. Also, the response from Sasktel suggests that TV stations can begin planning for relocation immediately. The CAB notes that the design requirements to change channel and reconstruct transmission facilities are specific to the band and frequency of operation. Planning and design cannot begin until the Department provides a new DTV Allotment Plan, which cannot be finalized until after the US Incentive Auction. Accordingly, it is evident that the SaskTel comment demonstrates a lack of knowledge and understanding of the regulatory process and technical requirements for television stations to change channel of operation. Maintain continuity of service and minimize disruption to viewers 25. The majority of comments received by the Department to the Consultation acknowledge the importance of maintaining continuity of service and minimizing disruption to viewers receiving OTA TV services. It is possible, in some instances, that temporary transitional operations may be necessary to allow for channel changes without interrupting TV service. These transitional operations may include temporarily moving to a different channel, power reductions, and/or accepting greater levels of interference. The CAB recommends that such temporary operations should not affect the licensed coverage of a station and should not impact the carriage and program distribution rights of TV stations. Confirm channels for all TV stations in Canada. 26. Most respondents support that the Department must commit to ensure that there are replacement channels for all TV stations in Canada. 27. The CAB opposes the recommendations of some respondents that multicasting could be used on DTV transmitters to increase spectral efficiency. The CAB opposes any requirement for TV stations to multicast. Existing stations should be able to maintain the greatest flexibility to adopt new technology or standards, offer higher resolution such as UHDTV, or experiment with innovative multicast services on a voluntary basis. 28. Further, the CAB disagrees with the assertion of PIAC that 3.8 Mbps for 720p high-definition offered by Netflix is a suitable quality standard for OTA television. First, this is an unfair comparison because such services use a different type of video coding than OTA television. OTA television is constrained by the current ATSC 1.0 standard which is required for transmission and capable of reception by consumer television sets. Importantly, Canadian viewers should not be limited from experiencing the full resolution of HDTV currently offered by OTA DTV stations. Nor should they be prevented from the future enhancements of UHDTV or other technological improvements, such as the ATSC 3.0 standard. It would not be in the competitive interest of Canadian stations to offer lower quality HDTV resolution than is available for reception by US stations near the border.

5 Optimize TV coverage 29. The CAB reiterates its earlier comment that existing TV stations should be permitted an opportunity to change band of operation or modify operating parameters to correct for assumptions made during the DTV cutover in Shaw in its submission has stated that analog stations switching to digital should be permitted at least an 8 db increase in operating parameters above what the current Broadcast Procedures and Rules would suggest is the equivalent digital replacement to the analog regional contour. The CAB believes that this should not be restricted to analog stations. DTV stations should be given an opportunity to modify operating parameters to correct assumptions made during the DTV cutover in Shaw submitted that it has made a consistent effort to broaden coverage areas and optimize channel selection in order to provide consumers with the maximum coverage and signal quality reasonably and technically permitted under the current DTV channel plan. Shaw submits that not only is there an ongoing role for OTA TV in Canada s broadcasting landscape, but also that every reasonable effort should be made to provide the best possible use of assigned channels. 32. The CAB recommends that existing stations should have an opportunity to modify their operating parameters before a new DTV Allotment Plan is finalized. LPA devices 33. The CAB supports the comments submitted by Shure and Mr. Wayne Stacey in regard to the continued viability of LPA devices (wireless microphones and cameras). 34. Shure has stated that broadcasters had to make substantial investments in replacement equipment as a result of displacement from the 700 MHz Band. The CBC has stated that it spent over $1 million for this reason. Shaw has stated that, equipment purchased by broadcasters for use within the 700 MHz band was recently rendered obsolete as a result of the Department s repurposing of spectrum in that band for mobile use. Shaw further submitted that, The proposals contemplated in the Consultation Document will result in the obsolescence of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of this equipment purchased by broadcasters within the last four years. 35. The CAB submits that TV stations should be reimbursed for the costs to replace or reconfigure wireless microphones and cameras as a result of repurposing the 600 MHz Band. 36. Mr. Stacey noted that On 5 February 2015, Industry Canada published a number of documents relating to the planned authorization of White Space Devices (WSD) in Canada. In document CPC ( Voluntary Licensing of Licence-Exempt Low-Power Radio Apparatus in the TV Bands ) the Department states, This document focuses on voluntary licensing of licence-exempt lowpower radiocommunication apparatus (LPA), specifically, wireless microphones and cameras, remote cue and control communications equipment and equipment that synchronizes video camera signals, operating within the VHF and UHF TV broadcast bands.. The document goes on to say: TV-band LPA certified under RSS-210 may operate in Canada without a licence but adds, if protection from potential interference caused by WSDs is desired, users of licence-exempt LPA should voluntarily obtain radio licences. (emphasis added).

6 37. However, Decision 2 of the Consultation has placed a moratorium on licensing such devices even before CPC was published. 38. The protection of LPA devices is an important requirement to ensure that wireless microphones and cameras used by broadcasters in the creation of local television programming do not receive interference from the deployment of White Space Devices in Canada. 39. The CAB suggests that the Department revisit Decision 2 in the Consultation which puts a moratorium on applications for voluntary licensing of LPA devices. The Decision could be modified to permit voluntary licensing now, or allow existing users of LPA devices to register their operations with WSD database administrators, as a temporary measure. 40. The CAB thanks the Department for this opportunity to provide reply comments to Canada Gazette Notice No. SLPB Consultation on Repurposing the 600 MHz Band.