TV Channels 5 – 6 are up for consideration for use for low power community broadcasting. Very interesting. There isn’t a final decision yet but this is promising news and could offer part 15 fm operators a spot on the fm dial to escape the congestion found on the fm dial between 88 to 108 mhz.
Keep your fingers crossed.
Here is the story via Radio Survivor.
Positive Hunch
Everytime I declare a hunch about the future I always preface it by saying, “I am not psychic, but…” Ever since the notion of TV channels 5 & 6 being converted to radio usage it seemed to me like it would happen. It was more than a year ago when someone raised the idea as a genuine option under consideration. Then, when we found the Scosche FM transmitters to be Certified for 87.5, 87.7 & 87.9, even though we allowed this may have been a “mistake,” I also wondered if perhaps Scosche was “ahead of the future.”
And recently we talked about Part 73 rules which allow FM audio links on these very frequencies.
A very strong clue arrived on May 12, 2010 when the Part 15 Rules were given a new door-opening rule, 15.216, “Disclosure Requirements for wireless microphones and other low power auxiliary stations capable of operating in the core TV bands.”
This latest news article certainly looks like the way is being made for all this to happen.
Is not the FM band the most lively chunk of radio real estate in existence today? It’s time to expand it (maybe).
TV Chs 5 & 6
From other sources over the past few weeks, it has been made clear that the low power broadcasting being considered was a result of efforts by the Prometheus Project folks. They have made a great case for expanding LPFM to this area of spectrum. This will very likely not include Part 15 folks.
Any AM service to be used in this spectrum would very likely be very narrow band in nature. This practice would put broadcasting music out of the question due to the inherent audio fidelity and bandwidth issues.
So, this ain’t over ’til the fat lady sings. And there is a lot of acting to be accomplished before the singing.
Other Possibilities
So far the new 15.216, which names the core TV channels within the Part 15 Rules, puts that the frequencies being considered under Part 15, and the power level mentioned is 50mW output to the antenna, taken from the existing Part 73 rules. The new part 15.216 is self-admittedly not in final form, and as it becomes better drafted the more restrictive power limits of present FM operation are perhaps what we’ll get, although 50mW would be very welcome. In any case it looks so far like Part 15 will gain from the band expansion.
As for putting AM on the TV 5 & 6 band, my presumption would be that existing AM stations hampered by weak signals or daytime-only, would be allowed the chance to have an FM channel which would be pure FM.
Transitional Rules
I think it would be safe to say that drawing conclusions from the current disjointed rules would be folly. The new Commission has not decided what to do with the vacated TV channels as yet. And by the divisive opinions being expressed by new members of the Commission on the subject, we are not likely to get a firm and final determination for some time.
I was witness to a lively discussion of broadcast engineers at a SBE meeting in Portland, Oregon recently. There is very little, in the way of, consensus on what to do with this open spectrum.
Another option on the table for these TV channels is the expansion of rural wireless internet. BPM (broadband over power line) was a bust, so this may be the next attempt at having the FCC have jurisdiction over the web.
So, crossing your fingers, your eyes and your toes would be in order. We will know the final outcome when a NPRM comes down from commissioners on their use. All of the choices you mentioned as possibilities, for Part 15 and others, will be under consideration until the Commission decides and court challenges are finished. And you can bet your safe money there will be court challenges to whatever the Commission decides initially.
Other thoughts: Won’t there have to be a flurry of new radio receivers manufactured so that there will be new listeners to make this move economically worthwhile? Doesn’t the expansion of entertainment and information on Apple and Google hardware and apps lead us away from any kind of chance for success for Part 15 and licensed traditional terrestrial broadcasting? Isn’t it a real possibility, the FCC, looking at developing spectrum economy through digital or HD radio, determine this portion of spectrum could be entirely HD radio? And, wouldn’t this serve to push broadcasting forward into the future significantly? Wouldn’t this mean that the radio receivers would be software or app driven rather than analogue signal decoders as they are now?
The Broad View of Broadcast
The much broader view of the range of future possibilities is very important as we wonder what may be in store. It is fortunate that so many viewpoints come to our attention here on the site. Be that as it may I’m going to cling to the idea that 15.216, which clearly combines the two worlds of “core TV band” (actually a much larger swath than just TV 5 & 6) and “Part 15 of the Rules,” appears to be a green light on the track.
What Is Coming
I am about to quote from my paper copy of Broacast Engineering Magazine for July 2010, with perhaps a more concrete look at what is happening down below the FM band:
The FCC has proposed new rules that would allow legal, unlicensed operation of TV-band wireless microphones by anyone at powers below 50mW. We are not likely to see these rules adopted for several months. In the meantime, the FCC is allowing operation of wireless microphones below 50mW by anyone on an unlicensed basis, under temporary waivers.
– Mitchell Lazarus – Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth, PLC
Take special note of the last sentence about “waivers.”
Now we ask, what qualifies as a “wireless microphone?”
RE: What Is Coming
Now we ask, what qualifies as a “wireless microphone?”
Well … I suppose if worse comes to worse you could get a really, really good speaker system and mic it, just as they do with guitar cabs on stage, but wirelessly. … Be mono, of course.
Looking at the intent of the wording, I don’t see making a radio station out of it. Doesn’t mean there isn’t some hope left, but … I don’t think I’ll bate my breath.