Technical Advisory Committee on Broadcasting (B-TAC) Minutes of First Meeting of 2006, held January 31, 2006

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Attendees

1.         Chairman's Opening Remarks

Mr. Mimis welcomed the members to the first meeting in 2006.  He said that the issue of digital subscription radio had finally been decided.  Amongst other initiatives, the planning for AM-IBOC testing was progressing, although we had had problems with equipment and schedules etc.  Mr. Mimis also indicated that the Department was planning to purchase a FM-IBOC system for further testing.  Other items of interest would be the adoption of a Resolution at CITEL to hold a Regional Conference to plan for digital radio in the AM band (both IBOC and DRM systems).  Within the Department, Mr. Mimis said that the DTV post transition planning work was on-going and a draft plan may be expected in the Spring/Summer time frame.

2.         Approval of Agenda

Mr. Stacey proposed adding AInterference to FM by small hand held devices@ as item 7.1 for discussion.

Mr. Mathieu would like to include 'Call-Signs Rules' as item 7.2 for discussion.

Mr. Beausejour proposed the subject of AApplication Processing Priorities@ as item 7.3 for discussion.

All the above proposed additions were approved by the members.

3.         Draft Minutes of the third meeting of 2005

Section 1.         Opening Remarks

'...changes to the AM agreement to accommodation digital systems...'

                                     changed to

'...changes to the AM agreement to accommodate digital systems...'

The draft minutes were approved as amended.

4.         Matters arising from the minutes

Mr. Lam said that as a result of discussions at the last meeting, a number of issues had been addressed as follows:

1. AM-IBOC-Test

A meeting had been held by subcommittee 13 to adopt the proposed 'Helmholtz coil' test methodology and such a coil was subsequently purchased by the Department.  Preliminary testing of the coil indicated that the proposed test method could provide a stable set-up for the AM-IBOC test.  However, due to equipment and scheduling problems, the AM-IBOC interference tests had to be delayed.

2. SDARS repeater data availability for NIR analysis at co-located sites

Mr. Leduc said that the SDARS data would now be available in the extract under SDARS.dbf file.

3. Format of e-mapping

Due to other priorities, the subcommittee had yet to discuss this subject.  However, the chair of the subcommittee was planning to call a meeting in the near future.

4. NavCom program

The updated NavCom program was still being evaluated by NavCanada before releasing it to the members.  Mr. Lam would notify the members when ready.

5. CBC Long Range Plan with Channel members

The CBC Long Range Plan had been modified to include the channel numbers.  Mr. Gauthier would forward an e-copy of the Plan to Mr. Lam for distribution.

6. Measurement Uncertainties Procedures

The Measurement Uncertainties Procedures had been posted at the Department's website for public information.

5.         Status Report

5.1       Digital TV/DRB

DTV

Mr. Dadourian said that the U.S. had announced a firm date for digital TV transmission, namely February 17, 2009.  After that date there would be no more analog TV transmission in the U.S.  On the subject of DTV receivers, after July 1, 2005, all receivers 36 inches and over must have digital tuners.  After July 1, 2006, this requirement would be extended for sets from 25 inches to 36 inches and finally by July 1, 2007, all TV receivers, including VCR, etc, must carry digital tuners.  Mr. Dadourian expected that the same models would be sold in Canada, although there would be no such legal requirement in Canada.  In the U.S., there would be a program for set-top converter subsidy, to be funded from the proceeds of spectrum auctioning.  Mr. Gauthier expressed a concern that after 2009, it would be difficult to obtain NTSC transmission equipment.  He suggested that Canada should also set a transition deadline to avoid such a problem.  Mr. Mimis replied that both the Department and the CRTC had agreed to review DTV policies for possible changes etc.

DRB

Mr. Dadourian reported that subscription for XM Radio exceeded 6 million subscribers in North America and Sirius also reported to have over 3 million subscribers.  He said that in addition to current digital radio service, XM Radio was looking into new applications, e.g. surround sound for home and GPS based services for real time data re. location etc.  On the subject of HD Radio such as IBOC systems, Mr. Dadourian suggested that broadcasters were in favour of the HD2 option, i.e. 2 channels service with equivalent FM quality but of lesser coverage.  He suggested that HD2 may be beneficial for large cities where available FM channels were scarce.  With regard to the sale of IBOC systems outside the U.S.  Mr. Dadourian indicated that he was informed by Ibiquity that the licensing fee would be waived. This would be of benefit to our planned IBOC field tests.  On a related topic, Mr. Hoeppner said that Corus Entertainment had been approached by Clear Channel (U.S.) for linking up with its RDS system for mapping services.  Mr. Stacey added that broadcasters would be concerned if such services were to translate into location related advertising and therefore would impact on local advertising ratings.

5.2       BPR Updates

Mr. Boilard reported that BPR-9 would be issued soon.  Mr. Gauthier suggested that overload contours should be included in this issue and he proposed the value of 115 dBu to be appropriate.  Mr. Stacey pointed out that the proposed value of 115 dBu would be different from the EMCAB2 value of 125 dBu which was for all radiocom facilities.  Mr. Mimis said that it would be difficult to justify adopting a different overload contour value other than EMCAB2, however, he agreed to investigate further on the proposal.

Mr. Boilard indicated that the EMCAB issue would be included in the antenna committee's work and would be addressed as part of the overall antenna policy.  He said that the committee's work was progressing well and after consultation with the major stakeholders, a number of principles had been adopted; namely tower sharing and definition of towers, land use consultation, public consultation, complete with existing obligation such as NAV/COM and Safety Code 6, etc, and the role of the Department in its application etc.  He suggested that a new policy would be gazetted when ready.  In the meantime, all the interested parties, stakeholders, the Department and the Municipalities were working on a reference protocol for consultation.  Mr. Mimis added that the Municipalities may still need to further their understanding on some of the parameters used in applications.

Mr. Stacey suggested that due to the uncertain time frame of the issuance of the antenna policy, this committee should consider adopting the 125 dBu overload contour value to harmonize with the EMCAB2 value for all broadcasting facilities at the next meeting (June 2006).

5.3       CRTC Updates

Mr. Wilson said that a number of Public Notices would be issued soon, namely digital migration of analogue pay and specialty services, policy for High Definition specialty services and policy for mobile video etc.  He also indicated that the 'All Channel Alert' application would be scheduled for a Public Hearing.  Mr. Wilson said that in the Commercial Radio Review policy, announced in the Public Notice 2006-01, it outlined that the transition to digital radio was effectively stalled and the Commission may consider the use of the IBOC system as a platform for digital radio.  He encouraged members to submit their comments on the subject (due March 15, 2006).  Mr. Wilson informed the members that there had been some reorganization within the Commission.  Broadcasting and Telecommunication policy and operation had been grouped together under a single structure.  There would be three units under the structure, one each dedicated to broadcasting, telecommunications and a newly integrated section that would undertake activities of a more analytical nature on communication industries, markets and technologies.  As well, there would be a group responsible for the monitoring and process management activities of the Commission and would be a focal point for the Commission's enforcement responsibilities, including those related to the 'National Do Not Call List'.

5.4       Subcom 15 (Gov-On-Line)

Mr. Lam reported that due to other priorities, Subcom 15 had not met since the last B-TAC meeting.  However, the Department would continue to encourage members to use the on-line application in order to try out the new system and to identify any potential problems.  Mr. Lam suggested that Mr. Vaccani would soon call a subcommittee meeting to study all such issues including the format of e-mapping.

5.5       Subcom 17 (Post DTV Transition Issues)

Mr. Dadourian reported that planning for Ontario and Quebec had been completed and current efforts would be directed toward the western provinces before finishing the project with the Maritime Provinces.  He indicated that some remote communities presented some difficult choices, e.g. optimization of channel numbers etc.  Mr. Dadourian also suggested that the Department would be ready to start negotiation with the U.S. authorities because the most difficult part of the planning had been done.  Mr. Mimis added that although the post-transition plan was completed, the final plan may still require minor modifications.  He said that the U.S. was eager to start negotiations to finalize the post-transition plan, however, it may be some time before the final agreement would be in place.

5.6       Subcom 18 (Windmill and Structures)

Mr. Gauthier said that subcommittee 18 had completed its task and produced a report on the impact of Windmills and Structures.  The report outlined the impact and zones of concern for broadcasting signals re. Windmill installation.  Mr. Gauthier indicated that the document had been posted at the Quebec government website (Bureau du BAPE) for information.  As well, the CBC was planning to persuade other provincial governments to adopt the same approach as Quebec.  He further suggested that it would be of help if the document could be posted at the IC website site.  Mr. Mimis concurred that it would be helpful to post the document at the IC's website.  However, some legal issues had to be considered and the Department was in the process of resolving some of these issues before posting the document at the Department's website.  With the Chairman's suggestion, members agreed to disband subcommittee 18 and thanked the efforts of its members.  In concluding discussion on the subject, Mr. Gauthier suggested that the CBC might further promote the subject through RABC for support.

6.         Informatics

Mr. Leduc said that the concerns of the NavCom Program as identified by NavCanada would be addressed.  He also indicated that the DAB stations would be included in the extract in the future.  Mr. Labarre requested that the map-info contours be updated.  Mr. Leduc replied that such a task had been in the work plan, and he was hopeful that the update would be done before the next meeting.

7.         Other Business

7.1       Interference Caused by FM Modulators used with Hand-Held Devices

Mr. Stacey brought the matter up as an information item for the members.  He said that interference from low power FM modulators used with small hand held devices such as ipods etc, into broadcasting channels had been on the increase.  He suggested that the Department should develop some guidelines, similar to the RSS210, to regulate such devices in areas re. radiation limits and frequency agility etc.  A brief discussion followed amongst the members on the scope and the extent of this problem.  In concluding the discussion, Mr. Dadourian said that the Department was aware of this issue, however, it would be difficult to entirely resolve this problem since these devices would mostly fall under consumer electronic devices.

7.2       Call Signs

Mr. Mathieu referred to the previous discussion on the subject in which this committee agreed to modify the Call-Sign Rules to allow some flexibility for broadcast to choose their call signs.  He was interested in the current status of the proposed change of rule.  In reply, Mr. Dadourian said that a Gazette Notice had been prepared to announce the change.  However, due to the recent change in government, it would have to wait for the new Minister's signature before issuance.  Mr. Dadourian added that other available Call Signs for Canada would include CG, CY, CZ, XJA and XOZ.

7.3       Guidelines for Application Priorities

Mr. Beausejour said that the current broadcast application process may require better coordination between the Department and the CRTC to avoid unnecessary confusion and delay.  He suggested that some form of priority system be assigned to each application between the Department and the Commission.  Mr. Wilson agreed to review the current process for improvement.  In the meantime, the Department would also look into the issue and discuss with the CRTC for better coordination in application processing.  Mr. Stacey also raised the issue of standby transmitters which may require better attention by the Department since they would be used as back-up transmission by broadcasters and also in emergency situations.

8.         Date of Next Meeting

The date of the next meeting will be on Monday, June 5, 2006.