DOCSLIB.ORG

Efficient Spectrum Utilization of UHF Broadcast Band

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Efficient Spectrum Utilization of UHF Broadcast Band LEI SHI Doctoral Thesis in Information and Communication Technology Stockholm, Sweden, 2014 TRITA-ICT-COS-1406 KTH Communication Systems ISSN 1653–6347 SE-100 44 Stockholm ISRN KTH/COS-14/06-SE Sweden Akademisk avhandling som med tillstånd av Kungl Tekniska högskolan framlägges till of- fentlig granskning för avläggande av teknologie doktorsexamen i telekommunikation tors- dagen den 12 June 2014 klockan 14.00 i Room E, Forum, Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan, Isafjordsgatan 26, Kista. © Lei Shi, June 2014 Tryck: Universitetsservice US AB i Abstract The UHF band between 470-790 MHz, currently occupied by digital ter- restrial TV (DTT) distribution in Europe, is widely regarded as a premium spectrum band for providing mobile coverage. With the exponential increase in wireless data traffic in recent years, there has been growing interests in gaining access to this spectrum band for wireless broadband services. The secondary access in TV White Space is considered as one cost-effective way to reuse the spectrum unoccupied by the primary DTT network. On the other hand, the declining influence of DTT and the converging trends of video con- sumption on TV and mobile platforms are new incentives for the regulator to reconsider the optimal utilization of the UHF broadcast band. The proposal to re-farm the UHF band for a converged content distribution network was born under theses circumstances. This thesis intends to develop a methodology for evaluating the technical performance of these options for utilizing UHF broadcast band and quantify- ing their gains in terms of achievable extra capacity and spectrum savings. For the secondary access in TV white space, our study indicates a considerable po- tential for low power secondary, which is mostly limited by the adjacent chan- nel interference generated from the densely deployed secondary devices due to the cumulative effect of multichannel interference. On the other hand, this potential does not translate directly into capacity for a WiFi-like secondary system based on CSMA/CA protocol, as the network congestion and self- interference within the secondary system has a greater impact on the network throughput than the primary interference constraint. Our study on the cellular content distribution network reveals more po- tential benefits for re-farming the UHF broadcast band and reallocating it for a converged platform. This platform is based on cellular infrastructure and can provide TV service with the same level of quality requirement as DTT by delivering the video content via either broadcast or unicast as the situa- tion dictates. We have developed a resource manage framework to minimize its spectrum requirement for providing TV service and identified a significant amount of spectrum that can be reused by the converged platform to provide extra mobile broadband capacity in urban and sparsely populated rural areas. Overall, we have arrived at the conclusion that the concept of cellular con- tent distribution in a re-farmed UHF band shows a more promising prospect than the secondary access in TV white space in the long run. Nevertheless, low power secondary is still considered as a flexible and low-cost way to exploit the underutilized spectrum in the short term, despite its uncertainty in future availability. On the other hand, the re-farming of UHF broadcast band is a long and difficult regulation process with substantial opposition from the in- cumbent.The results from this study could serve as input for future regulatory decisions on the UHF band allocation and cost-benefit analysis for deploying new systems to access this spectrum band. Acknowledgements Along the journey towards making this PhD thesis during the last four and a half years, there is no lack of occasions of feeling stressed and confused. But looking back from today, I would say, without regrets, it has been a truly unforgettable and rewarding experience, thanks to the encouragement, support and friendship from the people in this environment. Therefore, I would like to take the opportunity here to express my sincere gratitude to these special people. First of all, I am most grateful to my main supervisor, Prof. Jens Zander, who has offered me the extraordinary opportunity to pursue the doctoral study here. His critical and visionary thinking has always inspired me the most and taught me to live with and even enjoy the uncertainties in both research and the life ahead. I am also very thankful for his trust and support, especially for my application to the EIT ICT doctoral program, which may turn out into another wonderful journey into the ’uncertainties’. I am also deeply in debt to Docent Ki Won Sung, my co-advisor, with whom I have enjoyed working closely in most of the projects and publica- tions during my PhD study. He has always been extremely patient in giv- ing me invaluable advices and feedbacks in our countless discussions. And I have learned a great deal from his expertise and knowledge that he has always shared without any reservation. I greatly appreciate Docent Svante Signell, for his time spent in reviewing my Licentiate thesis. I owe special thanks to Dr. Tim Irnich, for accepting the role of opponent for my Licentiate thesis defense. I would like to thank Lasse Wieweg for reviewing my PhD thesis proposal and Prof. Mats Bengtsson for his valuable comments during the evaluation of this thesis. My special thanks to Prof. Linda Doyle for accepting to be my opponent in the Doctoral dissertation. I am also grateful to the members of the grading committee: Dr. Joachim Sachs, Prof. Tommy Svensson and Prof. Mikael Sköglund. I consider myself lucky and privileged to have met and worked together with many talented people in different research projects. I am especially thankful to Evanny Obregon and Javier Ferrer: the time we spent working together has been a fun and fruitful year at the beginning of the PhD. I would also like to say thanks to all of you who made the Radio Communication ii iii System group such a unique and friendly environment: Ali Özyagci, Sibel Tombaz, Serveh Shalmashi, Du Ho Kang, Luis Martinez, Miurel Tercero, Yan- peng Yang, Haris Celik, Amirhossein Ghanbari, Anders Laya, Ashraf Widaa, Vlad-Ioan Bratu, Dr. Sang-Wook Han, Prof. Jan Markendahl, Prof. Ben Sli- mane, Prof. Claes Beckman, Prof. Guowang Miao, Dr. Luca Stabellini, Göran Andersson, Anders Västberg and many more. I am also grateful to Sarah Winther, Jenny Minnema, Gunilla Gabrielsson and Lissi Perseus for their excellent administrative support. My special thanks goes to Irina Radulescu and Dr. Bogdan Timus, not only for their help even before I started my PhD but also for their genuine friendship. It is just impossible to describe how grateful I am for my parents, Rudong Shi and Ling Yang. Your unconditional love has always been the pillar for me to lean on. I am also extremely grateful to my wife, Molan, for coping with my fluctuating stress level during all these years. But you have not only helped me to get through the difficult times with your encouragements and patience, but also created the space where I can live a balanced and healthy life. Finally, I would like to dedicate this thesis to my family: without your support and understanding, I would never reach this far. Contents Preface ii Contents iv List of Figures vi List of Abbreviations viii I1 1 Introduction 2 1.1 Background . 2 1.2 Spectrum Access in UHF Band . 6 1.3 Previous Work . 9 1.4 Problem Formulation . 13 1.5 Thesis Contributions and Outline . 16 2 Research Methodology 20 2.1 Methodology for Analyzing the Spectrum Opportunity for Secondary Access in TV White Space . 21 2.2 Methodology for Evaluating the Spectrum Saving by Cellular TV Distribution . 26 3 Secondary Access in TV White Space 30 3.1 Interference Modeling . 30 3.2 Protection of Primary System . 31 3.3 Spectrum Opportunity and Secondary Capacity . 34 4 Cellular Content Distribution Network in a Re-farmed UHF Band 39 4.1 Feasibility Analysis . 39 4.2 CellTV Deployment in Inhomogeneous Environments . 41 5 Discussion 45 iv CONTENTS v 5.1 Benefits . 45 5.2 Challenges . 46 5.3 Summary . 48 6 Conclusions and Future Work 49 6.1 Concluding Remarks . 49 6.2 Future Work . 51 Bibliography 52 II Paper Reprints 58 7 Experimental Verification of Indoor TV White Space Opportu- nity Prediction Model (P1) 60 8 A Model for Aggregate Adjacent Channel Interference in TV White Space (P2) 67 9 Permissible Transmit Power for Secondary User in TV White Space (P3) 74 10 Controlling Aggregate Interference under Adjacent Channel In- terference Constraint in TV White Space (P4) 81 11 Secondary Spectrum Access in TV Bands with Combined Co- Channel and Adjacent Channel Interference Constraint (P5) 89 12 On the Capacity of Wi-Fi System in TV White Space with Ag- gregate Interference Constraint (P6) 100 13 CellTV - on the Benefit of TV Distribution over Cellular Net- works A Case Study (P7) 108 14 Opportunities and challenges for TV and Mobile broadband in 470-790 MHz (P8) 122 15 Spectrum Requirement for Cellular TV distribution in UHF Band from Urban to Rural Environment (P9) 141 16 Cellular TV Distribution in Heterogeneous Environments (P10) 147 List of Figures 1.1 Spectrum allocation in the UHF broadcast band [1] [2] . 3 1.2 TV consumption share on different platforms (%) [3]. 3 1.3 Wireless data traffic growth forecast (Exabytes per month) [4]. 4 1.4 Secondary Access in TV White Space. 6 1.5 Cellular content distribution network. 8 1.6 Summary of related literature in TV white space. 10 1.7 The correlation of the investigated scenarios. 13 2.1 Overall research approach of the thesis.
Recommended publications
  • BETS-5 Issue 1 November 1, 1996

    BETS-5 Issue 1 November 1, 1996

    BETS-5 Issue 1 November 1, 1996 Spectrum Management Broadcasting Equipment Technical Standard Technical Standards and Requirements for AM Broadcasting Transmitters Aussi disponible en français - NTMR-5 Purpose This document contains the technical standards and requirements for the issuance of a Technical Acceptance Certificate (TAC) for AM broadcasting transmitters. A certificate issued for equipment classified as type approved or as technically acceptable before the coming into force of these technical standards and requirements is considered to be a valid and subsisting TAC. A Technical Acceptance Certificate is not required for equipment manufactured or imported solely for re-export, prototyping, demonstration, exhibition or testing purposes. i Table of Contents Page 1. General ...............................................................1 2. Testing and Labelling ..................................................1 3. Standard Test Conditions ..............................................2 4. Transmitting Equipment Standards .....................................3 5. Equipment Requirements ..............................................4 6. RF Carrier Performance Standards .................................... 5 6.1 Power Output Rating .................................................5 6.2 Modulation Capability ................................................5 6.3 Carrier Frequency Stability ............................................6 6.4 Carrier Level Shift ...................................................7 6.5 Spurious Emissions
  • Replacing Digital Terrestrial Television with Internet Protocol?

    Replacing Digital Terrestrial Television with Internet Protocol?

    This is a repository copy of The short future of public broadcasting: Replacing digital terrestrial television with internet protocol?. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/94851/ Version: Accepted Version Article: Ala-Fossi, M and Lax, S orcid.org/0000-0003-3469-1594 (2016) The short future of public broadcasting: Replacing digital terrestrial television with internet protocol? International Communication Gazette, 78 (4). pp. 365-382. ISSN 1748-0485 https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048516632171 Reuse Unless indicated otherwise, fulltext items are protected by copyright with all rights reserved. The copyright exception in section 29 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 allows the making of a single copy solely for the purpose of non-commercial research or private study within the limits of fair dealing. The publisher or other rights-holder may allow further reproduction and re-use of this version - refer to the White Rose Research Online record for this item. Where records identify the publisher as the copyright holder, users can verify any specific terms of use on the publisher’s website. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ The Short Future of Public Broadcasting: Replacing DTT with IP? Marko Ala-Fossi & Stephen Lax School of Communication, School of Media and Communication Media and Theatre (CMT) University of Leeds 33014 University of Tampere Leeds LS2 9JT Finland UK [email protected] [email protected] Keywords: Public broadcasting, terrestrial television, switch-off, internet protocol, convergence, universal service, data traffic, spectrum scarcity, capacity crunch.
  • A Brief History of Radio Broadcasting in Africa

    A Brief History of Radio Broadcasting in Africa

    A Brief History of Radio Broadcasting in Africa Radio is by far the dominant and most important mass medium in Africa. Its flexibility, low cost, and oral character meet Africa's situation very well. Yet radio is less developed in Africa than it is anywhere else. There are relatively few radio stations in each of Africa's 53 nations and fewer radio sets per head of population than anywhere else in the world. Radio remains the top medium in terms of the number of people that it reaches. Even though television has shown considerable growth (especially in the 1990s) and despite a widespread liberalization of the press over the same period, radio still outstrips both television and the press in reaching most people on the continent. The main exceptions to this ate in the far south, in South Africa, where television and the press are both very strong, and in the Arab north, where television is now the dominant medium. South of the Sahara and north of the Limpopo River, radio remains dominant at the start of the 21St century. The internet is developing fast, mainly in urban areas, but its growth is slowed considerably by the very low level of development of telephone systems. There is much variation between African countries in access to and use of radio. The weekly reach of radio ranges from about 50 percent of adults in the poorer countries to virtually everyone in the more developed ones. But even in some poor countries the reach of radio can be very high. In Tanzania, for example, nearly nine out of ten adults listen to radio in an average week.
  • Mass Media in the USA»

    Mass Media in the USA»

    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by BSU Digital Library Mass Media In The USA K. Khomtsova, V. Zavatskaya The topic of the research is «Mass media in the USA». It is topical because mass media of the United States are world-known and a lot of people use American mass media, especially internet resources. The subject matter is peculiarities of different types of mass media in the USA. The aim of the survey is to study the types of mass media that are popular in the USA nowadays. To achieve the aim the authors fulfill the following tasks: 1. to define the main types of mass media in the USA; 2. to analyze the popularity of different kinds of mass media in the USA; 3. to mark out the peculiarities of American mass media. The mass media are diversified media technologies that are intended to reach a large audience by mass communication. There are several types of mass media: the broadcast media such as radio, recorded music, film and tel- evision; the print media include newspapers, books and magazines; the out- door media comprise billboards, signs or placards; the digital media include both Internet and mobile mass communication. [4]. In the USA the main types of mass media today are: newspapers; magazines; radio; television; Internet. NEWSPAPERS The history of American newspapers goes back to the 17th century with the publication of the first colonial newspapers. It was James Franklin, Benjamin Franklin’s older brother, who first made a news sheet.
  • Digital Dividend: Insights for Spectrum Decisions

    Digital Dividend: Insights for Spectrum Decisions

    Thematic reports ITUPublications Infrastructure Digital dividend: Insights for spectrum decisions International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Development Bureau Place des Nations CH-1211 Geneva 20 Switzerland ISBN: 978-92-61-28011-6 9 7 8 9 2 6 1 2 8 0 1 1 6 Published in Switzerland Geneva, 2018 Digital dividend: insights for spectrum decisions Photo credits: Shutterstock Digital dividend: Insights for spectrum decisions Please consider the environment before printing this report. © ITU 2018 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, by any means whatsoever, without the prior written permission of ITU. Foreword The rising importance of the radio spectrum in the world means that the way in which it is managed is vital for economical and societal development. As spectrum is freed up by the transition of analogue television services to digital and by the use of ever more advanced transmission and coding digital broadcasting technology, national and international spectrum decision makers are faced with the question of how to allocate the ‘digital dividend’ resulting from the spectrum efficiencies gained by this process in the frequency bands currently allocated to broadcasting. Although reallocation of spectrum is an important aspect of the transition to digital terrestrial tele- vision, there are other reasons for introducing or evolving the digital terrestrial television services. In addition to gaining spectrum efficiency, it will bringconsumer benefits(more choice and quality in television services) and industry benefits(new revenue streams and business models). By definition, the process by which the digital dividend will be allocated is closely related to the introduction or evolution of digital terrestrial television services.
  • Research on the Safe Broadcasting of Television Program

    Research on the Safe Broadcasting of Television Program

    MATEC Web of Conferences 63, 04002 (2016) DOI: 10.1051/matecconf/20166304002 MMME 2016 Research on the Safe Broadcasting of Television Program Jin Bao SONG1,a, Jin Hong SONG2 and Jian Ping CHAI1 1Information Engineering School, Communication University of China, Beijing, China 2Shandong Gold Mining Jiaojia Gold Mine (Laizhou) co.,LTD Abstract. The existing way of broadcasting and television monitoring has a lot of problems in China. On the basis of the signal technical indicators monitoring in the present broadcasting and television monitoring system, this paper further extends the function of the monitoring network in order to broaden the services of monitoring business and improve the effect and efficiency of monitoring work. The problem of identifying video content and channel in television and related electronic media is conquered at a low cost implementation way and the flexible technology mechanism. The coverage for video content and identification of the channel is expanded. The informative broadcast entries are generated after a series of video processing. The value of the numerous broadcast data is deeply excavated by using big data processing in order to realize a comprehensive, objective and accurate information monitoring for the safe broadcasting of television program. 1 Introduction paper is the development of cheap monitoring hardware devices which can be widely deployed to the village, so The existing way of broadcasting and television the actual situation of the user terminal broadcasting can monitoring has a lot of problems in China. Firstly, the be monitored by the administration of radio, film and existing way of monitoring is the front-end monitoring television.
  • History of Radio Broadcasting in Montana

    History of Radio Broadcasting in Montana

    University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1963 History of radio broadcasting in Montana Ron P. Richards The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Richards, Ron P., "History of radio broadcasting in Montana" (1963). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 5869. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/5869 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE HISTORY OF RADIO BROADCASTING IN MONTANA ty RON P. RICHARDS B. A. in Journalism Montana State University, 1959 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Journalism MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY 1963 Approved by: Chairman, Board of Examiners Dean, Graduate School Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number; EP36670 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT Oiuartation PVUithing UMI EP36670 Published by ProQuest LLC (2013).
  • The Market Leader in Over-The-Air Broadcasting Solutions

    The Market Leader in Over-The-Air Broadcasting Solutions

    Connecting What’s Next The Market Leader in Over-the-Air Broadcasting Solutions GatesAir efficiently leverages broadcast spectrum to maximize performance for multichannel TV and radio services, offering the industry’s broadest portfolio to help broadcasters wirelessly deliver and monetize content. With nearly 100 years in broadcasting, GatesAir’s exclusive focus on the over-the-air market helps broadcasters optimize services today and prepare for future revenue-generating business opportunities. All research, development and innovation is driven from the company’s facilities in Mason, Ohio and supported by the long-standing manufacturing center in Quincy, Illinois. GatesAir’s turnkey solutions are built on three pillars: Content Transport, TV Transmission, and Radio Transmission. GatesAir’s globally renowned Intraplex range comprises the Transport pillar, enabling audio contribution and distribution (along with data) over IP and TDM networks. Intraplex solutions provide value for broadcasters for point-to-point (STL, remote broadcast) and multipoint (single-frequency networks, syndicated distribution) connectivity. GatesAir continues to innovate robust and reliable solutions for traditional RF STL connections that can also accommodate IP traffic. In larger transmitter networks, Simulcasting technology ensures all GatesAir transmitters are time-locked for synchronous, over-the-air content delivery. Powering over-the-air analog and digital radio/TV stations and networks worldwide with the industry’s most operationally efficient transmitters is a longtime measure of success for GatesAir. Groundbreaking innovations in low, medium and high- power transmitters reduce footprint, energy use and more to establish the industry’s lowest total cost of ownership. Support for all digital standards and convergence with mobile networks ensure futureproof systems.
  • Technical Review: Wib – a New System Concept for Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT)

    Technical Review: Wib – a New System Concept for Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT)

    WiB – A New System Concept for Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) 06 March 2017 E. Stare, J.J. Giménez, P.Klenner FOREWORD The main purpose of an EBU Technical Review is to critically examine new technologies or developments in media production or distribution. All Technical Reviews are reviewed by one (or more) technical experts at the EBU or externally and by the EBU Technical Editions Manager. Responsibility for the views expressed in this article rests solely with the author(s). To access the full collection of our Technical Reviews, please see: tech.ebu.ch/publications If you are interested in submitting a topic for an EBU Technical Review, please contact: [email protected] EBU Technology & Innovation | Technical Review | 06 March 2017 2 ABSTRACT Authors: E. STARE1, J.J. GIMÉNEZ2, P. KLENNER3 A new system concept for DTT, called “WiB”, is presented, where potentially all frequencies within the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) band are used on all transmitter (Tx) sites (i.e. reuse-1). Interference, especially from neighbouring transmitters operating on the same frequency and transmitting different information, is handled by a combination of a robust transmission mode, directional discrimination of the receiving antenna and interference cancellation methods. With this approach DTT may be transmitted as a single wideband signal, covering potentially the entire UHF band, from a single wideband transmitter per transmitter site. Thanks to a higher spectrum utilisation the approach allows for a dramatic reduction in fundamental power/cost and about 37 - 60% capacity increase for the same coverage compared with current DTT. High speed mobile reception as well as fine granularity local services would also be supported, without loss of capacity.
  • En 300 720 V2.1.0 (2015-12)

    En 300 720 V2.1.0 (2015-12)

    Draft ETSI EN 300 720 V2.1.0 (2015-12) HARMONISED EUROPEAN STANDARD Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) on-board vessels communications systems and equipment; Harmonised Standard covering the essential requirements of article 3.2 of the Directive 2014/53/EU 2 Draft ETSI EN 300 720 V2.1.0 (2015-12) Reference REN/ERM-TG26-136 Keywords Harmonised Standard, maritime, radio, UHF ETSI 650 Route des Lucioles F-06921 Sophia Antipolis Cedex - FRANCE Tel.: +33 4 92 94 42 00 Fax: +33 4 93 65 47 16 Siret N° 348 623 562 00017 - NAF 742 C Association à but non lucratif enregistrée à la Sous-Préfecture de Grasse (06) N° 7803/88 Important notice The present document can be downloaded from: http://www.etsi.org/standards-search The present document may be made available in electronic versions and/or in print. The content of any electronic and/or print versions of the present document shall not be modified without the prior written authorization of ETSI. In case of any existing or perceived difference in contents between such versions and/or in print, the only prevailing document is the print of the Portable Document Format (PDF) version kept on a specific network drive within ETSI Secretariat. Users of the present document should be aware that the document may be subject to revision or change of status. Information on the current status of this and other ETSI documents is available at http://portal.etsi.org/tb/status/status.asp If you find errors in the present document, please send your comment to one of the following services: https://portal.etsi.org/People/CommiteeSupportStaff.aspx Copyright Notification No part may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm except as authorized by written permission of ETSI.
  • Coverage Aspects of Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting

    Coverage Aspects of Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting

    Coverage aspects of digital terrestrial television broadcasting C. Weck (IRT) 1. Introduction The specification for digital terrestrial television, DVB-T, offers a wide range The intention is to make terrestrial broadcasting of of potential applications: single trans- television programmes a more attractive proposi- mitter and single-frequency networks, tion to meet competition from cable and satellite prohibited channel operation, port- transmission. The new specification for digital terrestrial television, DVB-T [1], will make it pos- able reception, hierarchical trans- sible to provide television services which can hold mission, etc. The network operator their own, even when digital transmission via sat- can select technical parameters such ellite and cable is introduced. as the number of OFDM carriers, the length of guard interval, the degree of The chief advantages of terrestrial broadcasting error protection and the modulation are to be found in regional and local services method. The last two parameters in (pictures, sound and data). A further plus point particular allow the operator to reach for digital systems is the marked improvement in a compromise between the number portable reception when ordinary antennas are of programmes carried and their used. It is also possible with digital systems to transmission reliability. This raises transmit within a standard (7 or 8 MHz) television channel either (i) more programmes concurrently the question of which results, with or (ii) programmes with a higher image resolution regard to coverage, need to be (EDTV, HDTV). achieved in each case. The main applications have been As far as coverage planning is concerned, there studied at the IRT using Monte Carlo are important advantages in the design of the simulations of regular network transmitter network structure and the energy bal- ance.
  • SBE Comments to FINAL AM Improvement Docket

    SBE Comments to FINAL AM Improvement Docket

    Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, DC 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Revitalization of the AM Radio Service ) MB Docket No. 13-153 To: The Commission COMMENTS OF THE SOCIETY OF BROADCAST ENGINEERS, INCORPORATED 1. The Society of Broadcast Engineers, Incorporated (“SBE”)1 respectfully submits its Comments in response to portions of the Commission’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 13-139, 28 FCC Rcd. 15221, released October 31, 2013 in the above-captioned proceeding (the “Notice”).2 The Notice proposes “to introduce a number of possible improvements to the … AM… radio service and the rules pertaining to AM broadcasting.” The Commission also seeks “to revitalize further the AM band by identifying ways to enhance AM broadcast quality and proposing changes to our technical rules that would enable AM stations to improve their service.” The Commission proposes to “help AM broadcasters better serve the public, thereby advancing the Commission’s fundamental goals of localism, competition, and diversity in broadcast media.” SBE applauds this effort and offers the following comments on some of the technical issues raised in this proceeding. Specifically, SBE offers its comments on four issues that will provide both immediate and long-term relief to AM broadcast licensees: 1 SBE is the national association of broadcast engineers and technical communications professionals, with more than 5,000 members worldwide. 2 The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published in the Federal Register November 20, 2013. See, 78 Fed. Reg. 69629. 1