OFCOM Radio Microphone Changes
JohnG
Those of you at the last meeting may remember that I was tasked with
reading the OFCOM radio microphone document outlining the changes to
the current frequency bands with the sell-off of the analogue
television spectrum due to complete in 2012.
It's taken me a while, due to quite a heavy work load and the fact
that the document is over 150 pages! I have summarised a few of the
salient points below and I recommend that you read the sections I've
mentioned.
OFCOM have produced this document as a proposal and invited interested
parties to comment. The deadline for this was 20th March 2007 and a
statement is due to be published in July 2007. A document has been
submitted by JFMG - the current spectrum management company who issue
the relevant licences. I've had a quick read, it's only 15 pages long,
so not too bad!
The OFCOM document proposes that channel 69 should be deregulated for
community (read amateur) PMSE (Programme Makers and Special Events),
this would be availabe to anybody without a licence. That looks quite
good on the surface, but means that there is no management of the
spectrum and anybody can use the frequencies. No guarantee that a pub
band next door won't start breaking through on your radio mics.
Currently users in high density areas such as the West End use
channels 67 and 68 as well. These are licenced as single event
frequencies and are managed by JFMG to ensure no interference between
events. These frequencies would be among those sold off under the
OFCOM proposals.
OFCOM have suggested making a section of digital interleaved
frequencies available for professional PMSE (note the difference
between community and professional). This would mean a large expense
for those currently holding stocks of radios on anything other than
channel 69. That would be mainly hire companies, some of which hold
large stocks of these systems, normally the high-end products from
Sennheiser and Sony. There would be a huge cost implication for these
companies to change to the new digital interleaved frequencies.
JFMG have suggested that these frequencies should be held available
for PMSE until 2012. This would allow manufacturers to roll out new
radio microphones, and hire companies to gradually change as their
current stock reaches the end of its natural life. Many companies
operate a rolling change of stock over a 3 to 5 year period, so this
would make sense. Be prepared to see a lot of "illegal" radio mics on
e-bay around then! OFCOM have also suggested the possibility of
maintaining the other frequencies until 2012.
A point to remember is that the regions are being turned off in stages
from 2008 onwards, leaving some users in limbo until the interleaved
spectrum is finalised in 2012. The Granada region is due to switch in
2009, so there would be a major impact there, especially if radio mic
users have to change twice in that period! (See JFMG document page 6).
Interestingly enough, London is last to change in 2012 - no bias there
then!
I suggest that interested parties read the following sections of the
OFCOM document:
4.43
6.82
9.50 onwards
A5.22 onwards.
After that, please read the response from JFMG.
OFCOM proposal - http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/ddr/ddrmain.pdf
JFMG reply - http://www.jfmg.co.uk/jfmgecom/Docs/JFMGDDR2006condocresponseFinal.pdf
I hope this is useful, it looks as if OFCOM is taking a relatively
sensible point of view, but we must keep an eye on progress to make
sure we are given enough spectrum at a cost that is not prohibitive to
cash-strapped theatres etc. Remember a lot of money is being diverted
from Arts causes to the Olympics in London in 2012......that's a
familiar date.....that's a familiar location!
Cynically,
John G
Sebastian Barnes
This seems very clear, and useful. Particular thanks for the pointer about ebay likely to be flooded with useless equipment.
Sebastian.
JohnG
presentation by the British Entertainment Industry Radio Group (BEIRG)
from Ian Roberts at Solihull Arts Complex. It comprises the PowerPoint
slides presented in February this year concerning the BEIRG's comments
on the OFCOM document, and makes interesting reading.
There are two main points of interest, one is a spreadsheet showing a
small representation of the radio frequencies used in London for the
West End shows and some larger broadcast productions. They are having
to use a vast array of the spectrum, much more than just channels 67,
68 and 69. The non-broadcast shows are using from channel 60 upwards
and the bigger broadcast events (Live 8, Brits etc) are using far more
than that. Remember, the JFMG are managing all theses frequencies so
that there is a minimum of interference between events. The JFMG will
no longer exist after the sell-off, there will be nobody to do the co-
ordination.
The second point made in the presentation, is that there is plenty of
spectrum available in the digital interleaved frequencies OFCOM
suggests for PMSE use - wonderful I hear you all cry......BUT. The
main problem, and one that I had initially overlooked, is that parties
interested in using theses frequencies will be expected to bid at the
auction. As we all know, this industry is made up of many relatively
small players, no one individual has the resources to bid
successfully, and trying to co-ordinate a joint bid would be a
prohibitively mammoth task.
BEIRG have been told that both Dell and Vodafone have expressed an
interest in the interleaved spectrum, against those companies we would
not have a chance in an auction. The best we could hope for is picking
up any scraps after the bigger players have divided the spoils.
The worst case scenario is that the entire industry would be left with
a deregulated channel 69 and 14 or so usable frequencies shared with
everybody else, both professional and amateur....
This is why we must keep making a fuss and supporting groups such as
the BEIRG.
I'm getting depressed now!!
If anybody else has more information, please post it here. I'll keep
my eyes on any further developments and let you all know
John G
On May 8, 1:22 pm, "Sebastian Barnes" <Sebastian.Bar...@macarts.co.uk>
wrote:
> JFMG reply -http://www.jfmg.co.uk/jfmgecom/Docs/JFMGDDR2006condocresponseFinal.pdf
>
> I hope this is useful, it looks as if OFCOM is taking a relatively
> sensible point of view, but we must keep an eye on progress to make
> sure we are given enough spectrum at a cost that is not prohibitive to
> cash-strapped theatres etc. Remember a lot of money is being diverted
> from Arts causes to the Olympics in London in 2012......that's a
> familiar date.....that's a familiar location!
>
> Cynically,
>
> John G- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
irob...@solihull.gov.uk
If anybody would like a copy of the spread sheet and powerpoint
presentation send me a email and I will forward you a copy. Mention
Tech forum in the subject window.
Ta
Ian