BCI Prioritises DTT

taung

[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica, sans-serif]Some interesting news from the BCI; looks like the new minister must have asked them to get things moving on the DTT front.[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica, sans-serif]


BCI postpones plans for radio stations [/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica, sans-serif] [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica, sans-serif] Friday, July 27 14:29:42 [/FONT] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica, sans-serif] [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] (BizWorld)[/FONT] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica, sans-serif] [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica, sans-serif] The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland today said that it has postponed plans to advertise for three radio stations. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] These are: a classic rock service for the Dublin and commuter belt area; a country and Irish service for the North East and; a country and Irish service for the Mid-West.[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] The decision to defer these licensing processes is due to the need for the Commission to prioritise and progress the development of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) in the coming months, the BCI said. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica, sans-serif]The BCI's licensing plan for commercial radio was launched in September 2005, proposing the introduction of nine new commercial radio services. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica, sans-serif]To date six of the nine services have been advertised, five licences have been awarded, while consideration of applications for a new multi-city service will take place at the October meeting of the BCI Board. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica, sans-serif]The Commission said it will consider the timeframes for advertising the three deferred services in the final quarter of 2007 and a further announcement will be made at that time.[/FONT][/FONT]

watty

I can't imagine how DTT would take much of BCI's time. The major issue is not a Licence, but Who and where does the money come from. They have had 10 years to figure out issues of content and licence.

flogen

That reads to me as a very bitter press release. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but does anyone get the impression the BCI are agrieved at the statements by the minister (or any private moves he's made) and are saying they have to put other things on the shelf just to accomodate him?

All the same I agree with Watty - there's little point in the BCI gearing up to give licences to a service that hasn't even been blueprinted (not publicly anyway).

SPDUB

well the BCI and it's predecessor should have been working to push the launch of DTT since at least 2001 and finding ways around the ministerial block that was placed on the situation

It looks like the took the easy option at the time "not our problem" and are annoyed now that the current minister has given them a kick up the backside for doing this.

taung

If the minister has forced the BCI to act on DTT then he must also be getting the other pieces of the DTT jigsaw together as well......

Ulsterman 1690

Delaying licencing new radio services because the minister told them to get their finger out on digital TV ?

WTF do these people do all day anyway ? theyre worse than OFCOM IMNSHO the minister should give them an ultimatum to have all three radio services AND a digital TV service licenced, up and running by Christmas or he will sack the entire board of the BCI without pension, severence pay or reference. :mad:

Oh but hang on isint the Irish government off their three (or is it four) month summer holidays at the moment :rolleyes:

lucernarian

OT, but I can't let that drop. I've seen the hours that some of those TDs put in during and before the election. Whether they're smart or stupid, I wouldn't begrudge them the holiday. The board of the BCI probably get similar holidays, but without the 12 hour days...

Those radio stations are not huge on the priority list to be fair. There's aready more than enough Country and Western music on Northern Sound and LMFM. The details of the DTT multiplex licences and the elements of PSB broadcasting are things which need to be done right at the beginning and it is deserving of their full attention.

DMC

Just to pick up the latter points, LMFM have reduced their C&W output since Dermot Finglas was put out to graze...

Cas2007

they better do this (below)
The Green Party/Comhaontas Glas have, as part of their 2007 General Election Manifesto, proposed an all-island free-to-air DTT system, consisting of RTÉ One, RTÉ Two, TV3, TG4, BBC One Northern Ireland, BBC Two Northern Ireland, UTV and Channel 4 to be broadcast all around the island on the one network. Other Irish channels (eg. Channel 6, City Channel) may also be included. The party wish for this to be complete by 2009, 3 years before analogue signals are due to be switched off in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. [1] After the 2007 General Election, the Greens got control of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, the government department in charge of broadcasting, so this idea seems quite possible now.

taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_terrestrial_television_in_Ireland
and five aswell and film 4

Zaphod

GP Manifesto

The Green Party will:

• establish a new unified broadcasting regulator and
the similar reconstitution of the RTE Authority to
ensure its future independence;
• develop an all-island digital ‘free to air’
broadcasting service carrying RTE 1 & 2, TG4,
TV3 and the Northern Ireland BBC/ITV public
service main channels.

FF Manifesto

In government we will:
Enact the Broadcasting Bill to ensure a comprehensive, modern framework of
law for the sector.
Establish the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.
Ensure a speedy right to reply to those who have been defamed in radio or
television programmes.
Complete the pilot DTT project and complete roll-out of DTT well in advance of
the EU 2012 deadline.
Place reviews of the licence fee on a statutory basis.
Provide increased funding to TG4 for increased Irish language programming.
Maximise the number of home-produced programmes within the RTE schedule.
Digitise the RTÉ archives for use in education and research.
Enable RTÉ to support broadcasting to the Irish community abroad.
Ensure a fair and competitive environment for the independent TV and radio sector.

Programme for Government 2007-2012

We are committed to creating an environment that encourages the maintenance of high quality Irish radio and television services by
both independent broadcasters and RTÉ and securing a viable future for high quality public service broadcasting in the Irish market.
This Government will:
• Enact the Broadcasting Bill to ensure a comprehensive, modern framework of law for the sector.
• Establish the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.
• Ensure a speedy right to reply to those who have been defamed in radio or television programmes.
• Work with the various broadcasting organisations and interested parties to review rules relating to the advertising of ‘junk
food’ aimed at young people. This is with a view to phasing out such advertising.
• Complete the pilot DTT project and complete roll-out of DTT well in advance of the EU 2012 deadline.
• Place reviews of the licence fee on a statutory basis.
• Provide increased funding to TG4 for increased Irish language programming.
• Maximise the number of home-produced programmes within the RTE schedule.
• Digitise the RTÉ archives for use in education and research.
• Ensure RTÉ supports broadcasting to the Irish community abroad. We will examine the possibility of working with the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Authorities to develop an all-island digital ‘free to air’ broadcasting service carrying RTÉ1, RTÉ2, TG4, TV3 and the main public service channels in the UK and in North Ireland.
• Ensure a fair and competitive environment for the independent TV and radio sector.
• Work with the Houses of the Oireachtas and other local authorities to introduce programming carrying live feeds of
Oireachtas business and Local Council meetings, where possible.

Sponge Bob

It may be that these proposed services are now being held back for DAB only

DAB requires VHF3 spectrum now being used for analogue TV

DTT requires more UHF transmitters and turning off VHF3 and switching to UHF in those areas would be a good start , its a win win on 4 levels.

1. Extra UHF transmitters are commissioned
2. DAB spectrum is cleared for nationwide DAB rollout
3. UK can proceed with its DAB plans without interference from Truskmore/ Kippure and Mt Leinster as at present .
4. Then the game plan changes completely and the BCI can launch scads of Digital Only stations regionally or nationally if it wants .

Antenna

Sponge Bob wrote:

It may be that these proposed services are now being held back for DAB only

These licences would not be viable at all if they were DAB only. No one would be interested in such a situation for years.

Sponge Bob wrote:

DAB requires VHF3 spectrum now being used for analogue TV

DTT requires more UHF transmitters and turning off VHF3 and switching to UHF in those areas would be a good start , its a win win on 4 levels.

1. Extra UHF transmitters are commissioned
2. DAB spectrum is cleared for nationwide DAB rollout

4. Then the game plan changes completely and the BCI can launch scads of Digital Only stations regionally or nationally if it wants .

Is there little point in moving the VHF3 RTE 1/2 to UHF at this stage? You then have the expense of new transmitters, simulcasting on both for a period of time etc.
The Maghera, Truskmore, and Kippure transmitters would have to use channels at the high end of UHF for RTE 1, 2 - Group C/D (much less coverage in hilly terrain than VHF3). Unless there was also a FTA/FTV satellite option, it would hurt a lot of people in difficult reception areas.

The transmitters currently on VHF3 for RTE are main transmitters and would be the first to have DTT anyway.

TV on VHF3 is not stopping the current DAB trial in the north-east from being extended to the rest of the country if they want.

Maybe they are waiting until more future proof DAB+ receivers are in the shops before extending DAB any further? People have long memories about what happened to Betamax etc

There is 8MHz in VHF3 fully available to DAB now, whilst other bits of VHF3 can be used for DAB area dependent, such as Dublin.

Sponge Bob wrote:

3. UK can proceed with its DAB plans without interference from Truskmore/ Kippure and Mt Leinster as at present .

DAB is limited in mainland Britain, not because of nearby countries (not just Ireland) using VHF3 for TV, but because they had put 2-way radio systems in VHF3.

Northern Ireland is a different story alright, though a DAB extension above 230MHz would alleviate the situation there.

david23

There's a problem with Wales as well, where they need to use Blocks 10C & 10D for local muxes. These cannot go ahead until Irish TV switch-off in VHF3.

Also, the new UK national Channel 4 multiplex starting next year on 11A won't be able to cover West Wales or most of NI (outside Belfast) for the same reason.

Sponge Bob

Antenna wrote:

These licences would not be viable at all if they were DAB only. No one would be interested in such a situation for years.

Chicken and egg, if they were given a longer range dab than analogue it would 'incentivise' the situation some. I do not belive there is a problem with the gear save in cars .

Is there little point in moving the VHF3 RTE 1/2 to UHF at this stage? You then have the expense of new transmitters, simulcasting on both for a period of time etc.

Its inevitable. Galway City now needs its own transmitter for example. Nothing useful can be done until we are fully UHF for all TV , and thats with simulcast analogue and DTT but at least the aerials are sorted.

Unless there was also a FTA/FTV satellite option, it would hurt a lot of people in difficult reception areas.

To my mind the short term plan should be to provide FTV sat for 1/3 of the state and let TV3 pay for the scheme as I said Then turn off VHF3 pronto.

All Irish policies seem to assume there is no such thing as Astra2 and no such thing as 500k sky subs in a country of 1.5m households. In other words 1/.3 of households have rolled their own Digital TV and this is ignored by policymakers .

Dreadful muppetry but what can you do bar point the finger at the muppets in policymaking roles ...of whom there are very very many ????

a bientot

There are still just over 400,000 homes who do NOT avail of cable/mmds/deflector or satellite services and moreover have no intention of taking that route...who have and do depend(ed) on a house aerial (for BBC/ITV and /or RTE) or basic rabbit ears........
Up to 50,000 of aforecited are former customers of cable/mmds and believe it or not there are many among the 500,000 BskyB customers (June 07 statistics) who are no longer subscribing........

This is what DTT is all about and it is for these 400,000 that the new 'really ready' for HD TV sets with obligatory integrated MPEG4 tuners will be of most interest ..........from early 2008.

If you are one of them may I suggest you wait before you buy that bargain flat screen tv set...........

Ulsterman 1690

Where it is on Band 3 Analouge TV should stay there for now (although it should loose its "Protected" status over DAB once DTT becomes available from the same sites) No point in moving Analouge stuff up to UHF only to have another switchover to DTT later on. Besides keeping analouge on VHF means more frequency space for DTT.

DTT should be introduced (all multiplexes on UHF only) ASAP (6 months at all main TX sites and 12 months for relays is not unrealistic)

Initially there should be one multiplex (which includes the four existing analouge channels) with the rest following once the legal/financial hurdles over what to put on them are resolved.

Deflectors should be required to cease UHF transmissions as DTT can be rolled out unless they can find new frequencies where there are no interference issues with DTT once all national DTT multiplexes can be rolled out the deflectors can petition for DTT allocations of their own if/where they can prove there are available frequencies.

All Analouge in RoI (VHF and UHF) and the UK should cease by 2012

In the meantime DAB services (NI, RoI and West Wales) should investigate the possibility of using blocks 13A-F alternatively Divis could use the Sligo Frequencies Brougher could use Kippures and Limavady/L'Derry could use Monaghan's on a temporary basis (directionally screened where necessary)

and believe it or not there are many among the 500,000 BskyB customers (June 07 statistics) who are no longer subscribing

Yes but presumably just about all of them would still have their equipment and would therfore be able to recieve an FTA/FTV service

Galway

and why does Galway City need its own tx may i ask? The coverage from Maghera is generally good over most of the city. Out the moycullen road where is is less so, coverage is possible from Cairn Hill, Truskmore and Castlebar given the height of the terrain and clear views north, north east across Lough Corrib. Galway is most likely to be served by Maghera for DTT. Not the same as Limerick City where it is obstructed in parts by Woodcock Hill and is only just in the service area for Mullaghanish. Some parts of Lim county (out Foynes side) get good reception from Maghera as the Wcock Hill power is inadequate to provide acceptable pictures there.

lawhec

A switch or simulcast of RTÉ1 & 2 to UHF from all main transmitters may have made some sense around a decade ago but in this time now when analogue signals only have around a handful of years of a lifespan expected left it would be fairly needless and expensive to upgrade to UHF only, bearing in mind that not only would the main stations need changes made but also relay would also need adjustments (though the aerials for TG4 in most cases would prove adequete, its a matter of routing a signal to the transposer).

Sponge Bob

Fine.

announce analogue shutdown on the 4 or 5 VHF Band3 transmitters for 2009 and see what happens