LATEST -
April 2011
If you own or use radio mics, particularly within the
558MHz to 606MHz band, then the upcoming
UHF spectrum changes will affect you.
On Wednesday 09 March 2011, The Ministry of Economic Development and Radio Spectrum Management
announced that they will be making changes within the UHF radio spectrum and this will impact radio mic users.
The RSM will be rechannelling some Digital Terrestrial Television channels in preparation for the Digital Switch
Over. This rechannelling will commence within the next few months and continue through until June 2012,
therefore radio mic users need to be aware of the upcoming changes.
The story so far.
2008 - Digital Terrestrial Television starts and immediately affects radio mics users
- WUNZ is formed to represent all radio mic users and raise awareness of the impact of DTT
2009 - WUNZ initiates constructive dialogue with the RSM and highlights radio mic users needs
2010 - The Government announces that the UHF spectrum between 694MHz and 806MHz will form the digital
dividend and will be placed for auction after DSO
- The Government announces that the DSO will commence in the Hawkes Bay from September 2012 and
is expected to be completed by November 2013
2011 - The RSM release details of the rechanneling plan in preparation for DSO(see here)
How will the upcoming changes affect you?
The spectrum, primarily between 558MHz and 606MHz, will be densely populated with DTT transmissions
between now and DSO. If you currently use radio mics in this band, then you may not be able to use them
reliably in the very near future. WUNZ recommends that all radio mics users avoid acquiring radio mics that operate
within this band and consult with their dealers if you think your existing equipment will be affected by the planned changes.
The chart here outlines the nationwide changes that will occur to the 558MHz to 606MHz spectrum,
some of which could occur as early as April 2011. WUNZ will continue communicating with the RSM and seek advance
notification as to when the relevant changes are about to happen.
See the announcement from Jonathan Coleman, Minister of Broadcasting here
Details will be emailed to members and notification will also be placed on this website www.wunz.co.nz
August 2009
The next phase of the 'battle for bandwidth' starts to take shape with the publication of the joint Ministry Of Economic Development and Ministry of Culture and Heritage Submission Document.
See the article on the RSM website here.
August 17th 2009
Wrangling Begins over TV Spectrum (pdf file)
Stuff.co.nz
Axe hangs over regional TV (pdf file)
Stuff.co.nz
June 2009
UK Government to 'meet the costs' of...ch69 migration
Interesting reading from Pro Sound News (Europe)
June 12th 2009
Government intervention needed to prevent Sky's delaying tactic
NZ Herald
June 10th 2009
WUNZ Submission to MED on Provision for Radio Mics in the Digital Dividend
WUNZ
May 28th 2009
RADIO MIC USE THREATENED BY MOBILE PHONE COMPANIES...
An URGENT warning....
Good Morning,
Please take a moment to read the Herald article here.
As you are all aware, things are progressing as we head for the Digital Dividend and we have some important news so please take a minute to read on and take action.
The story so far…
To date, the MED (Ministry of Economic Development) via its RSM (Radio Spectrum Management) division has been overseeing the rollout of the DTV stations, which have been added to the current UHF, causing some havoc with existing mic users in certain parts of the country and in particular bands.
As you may be aware, this is only stage one as we head towards the Digital Dividend. Stage two is the DSO (Digital Switch Over) which will see all analogue transmitters being give notice to switch off, once the threshold for the public take up from analogue to digital receivers has been reached. It is estimated that this will occur around 2012 with the final DSO being around 2015. This will in turn allow RSM to realign the DTV network and shove them up towards to top or lower end of the current spectrum resulting in a nice chunk of clear RF space… this clear space is called the Digital Dividend and is what many people are looking at…. The Govt because it could be auctioned off for revenue, and others such as the Telcos for more spectrum to expand their current services……
So far, WUNZ has had meaningful and frank discussions with RSM (Ian Hutchings) to voice our concerns and they have been sympathetic to these. We are certainly on their radar….
Recent Events….
The MED recently held a number of “Scoping Workshops” which were a platform for interested parties to present their case for access to the Digital Dividend. (scoping document attached) WUNZ made a presentation (thanks Haresh Bhana and Dave Fuller) which outlined our current situation and our desire to secure a place in the spectrum after the DD. Other presentations were made by companies such as TVNZ, Kordia, Radio Broadcasters, as well as Telecom and Vodafone. Although the broadcasting fraternity are keen to see provision made for radio mics, we are very concerned that the Telcos are gunning for the complete 698-806MHz band which will leave many radio mic users in trouble.
Keep in mind that no decisions have been made and that this is just a scoping exercise, however, this is all heading towards a formal discussion document due for release in August with final decisions being made before the end of the year.
Our Concerns…
WUNZ is concerned about several aspects of this developing situation.
If the Telcos get their way and have exclusive rights to the 698-806MHz band (as happened in the USA recently) what will happen to the thousands of legacy users currently operating in this band?
So what now?
The MED are now seeking submissions to their scoping document which has a deadline of 11th June (not much time!)
Our feeling is that RSM have no clear idea of how many users are out there and who relies on continued use of these systems in order to make a living.
We are suggesting that we get as many users and anyone affected by this scenario to send a submission to the following address.
Perhaps you can state how the loss of usable spectrum would affect you, maybe your ability to earn a living etc.. maybe you could suggest they allocate some space for us to allow us to use our mics without any problems. Perhaps even show some scenarios which you are involved in to illustrate how and where radio mics are used (Rugby World Cup, Church Services, School Productions, Band gigs, Shows, News Gathering, Broadcasting etc…)
Our aim is not to antagonise the MED but to make them clearly aware of how many people this really affects – it’s a numbers game.
The Govt will probably look towards the economic picture first and on that front we can’t compete, however, in shear numbers we should make a great impact – providing we act now…
So, please feel free to forward this email to everyone you know that may be interested in making a submission.
This is an important issue that will affect the future of all radio mic users and the time to act is now. If we wait till the formal discussion document it may well be too late.
Regards,
The WUNZ Committee