Gazette Notice SMBR-001-06

Department of Industry

Radiocommunication Act

Notice No. SMBR-001-06 – New Broadcasting Procedures and Rules Part 9 (BPR-9) for Terrestrial S-DARS (Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service) Undertakings

Notice is hereby given that Industry Canada is publishing Issue 1 (Provisional) of Broadcasting Procedures and Rules, Part 9 entitled Application Procedures and Rules for Terrestrial S-DARS Undertakings (Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service) (BPR-9).

Terrestrial S-DARS undertakings, also referred to as Canadian digital satellite subscription radio undertakings, will operate in the 2320-2345 MHz band. Their purpose is to augment the satellite coverage within urban areas with S-DARS terrestrial transmitters. Licensees are required to keep the number of such transmitters to the minimum needed to meet service objectives. They may also need to coordinate with the fixed service systems operating in this band and to comply with certain technical restrictions in order to ensure compatibility with the Wireless Communication Services (WCS) systems operating in adjacent bands. BPR-9 also outlines the coordination criteria with the fixed service and the compatibility criteria with WCS systems.

Formal bi-lateral coordination with the United States (i.e. S-DARS to S-DARS) is not required for these systems since the Terrestrial S-DARS undertakings are associated with US partners through commercial agreements. As a result, spectrum coordination for terrestrial S-DARS transmitters is the responsibility of Canadian licensees.

The provisional version of this BPR-9 may be used to prepare applications for Terrestrial S-DARS systems.

Interested parties should submit their comments no later than 90 days following the publication of this notice. Shortly after the close of the comment period, all comments received will be posted on Industry Canada's Spectrum Management and Telecommunication website at: http://strategis.gc.ca/spectrum.

Submitting Comments

Respondents are requested to provide their comments in electronic format (WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF or ASCII Txt) to the following email address: broadcast.gazette@ic.gc.ca along with a note specifying the software, version number and operating system used.

Obtaining Copies

Copies of this notice and documents referred herein are available electronically on the Spectrum Management and Telecommunications website at: http://strategis.gc.ca/spectrum.

Official printed copies of Canada Gazette notices can be obtained from the Canada Gazette website at: http://canadagazette.gc.ca/publication-e.html or by calling the sales counter of Canadian Government Publishing at (819) 941-5995 or 1 800 635-7943.

May 6, 2006

_______________
R.W. McCaughern
Director General
Spectrum Engineering Branch