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FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on Monday, Nov. 18, disclosed his plan for reallocating part of the C-band spectrum (3.7–4.2 GHz) for 5G use.

In a letter to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Pai said the FCC will auction 280 megahertz of spectrum for 5G. An additional 20 megahertz will be used as a guard band with the remaining upper 200 megahertz available for the continued delivery of programming for radio and television.

[Read: New Bill Would Force C-Band Auction]

The FCC told reporters on Monday that with broadcast satellite services being downsized to just 200 MHz of spectrum a repack of the space will be required. There are more than 16,000 registered receive-only dishes in the field that currently use the C-band, according to NAB. They are used to receive national and syndicated programming for TV and radio.

The order is expected to be considered by the full commission early next year, according to an FCC official. FCC staff will be tasked with carrying out the public auction, which is expected to commence prior to the end of 2020, according to an FCC official. The FCC will accept public comment before any new rules are adopted.

On Nov. 18, the FCC called the process a “complicated rulemaking” that took over two years and raised a number of economic, legal, engineering and policy issues.

Pai in his letter to Congress outlined four principles that the FCC should advance in the rulemaking: “First, we must make available a significant amount of C-band spectrum for 5G. Second, we must make C-band spectrum available for 5G quickly. Third, we must generate revenue for the federal government. And fourth, we must protect the services that are currently delivered using the C-band so they can continue to be delivered to the American people.”

The public auction of the 280 megahertz for 5G (3.7 to 3.98 GHz) will be administered by the FCC. The commission determined an auction is preferable to a private sale, according to the FCC official. The C-Band Alliance, led by Intelset, SES and Intel, had previously proposed to split the band frequency to accommodate 5G services, with the alliance handling the private sale of spectrum.

The FCC on Nov. 18 said the repack of broadcast services to the upper 200 megahertz (4.0–4.2 GHz) has yet to be defined. The FCC official suggested that with the use of high-resolution video compression, the 20 megahertz guard band, the installation of filters on earth-stations and the launching of several new satellites, can compress all of the existing services and content currently delivered over the C-band into the upper 200 megahertz.

The FCC did not disclose whether incentive payments would be made to incumbent satellite providers affected by the repack. It is also not clear if there will be an independent facilitator appointed to oversee the clearing of the band.

NAB asked the FCC in an early filing during the proceeding to ensure “costs for implementing such a plan should be entirely borne by the beneficiaries of any private or public spectrum transaction: either the satellite operators or the mobile carriers who acquire spectrum usage rights.”

National Public Radio earlier pressed the FCC for clarity in its final decision when it comes to the financial ramifications of a massive C-band migration of satellite earth-stations caused by a repack. The Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS) depends on C-band for distribution of programming to approximately 1,275 public radio stations, said Adam Shoemaker, counsel for NPR, according to an FCC filing.

While the FCC’s plan on the repacking of broadcast services is unclear, the commission does expect to fully protect all incumbents currently relying on the C-band for video and radio programming, the FCC official said.

 

 

The post FCC Announces C-Band Repurposing Plan appeared first on Radio World.

Sofie Engelen hosts Willy’s morning drive

VILVOORDE, Belgium — The plan to launch a new radio station dates back from 2017, when Kevin Moens, music director with Joe, and a group of radio creatives came up with the idea.

“We felt we were missing something,” Moens said. “Both Qmusic and Joe have well-defined formats, but we couldn’t find a ‘guitar-focused’ station on the Flemish radio scene — part of the audience was left in the cold.”

NEW MARKET Willy’s on-air cast includes presenters, musicians and media personalities

The idea initially faced some criticism. “A third FM station for our media group was not the option, there was no room in the existing frequency plan — and streaming the signal was not enough,” Moens explained. “But gradually, the idea to serve a new segment alongside Joe and Qmusic became reality.”

When, in 2018, DPG Media decided to fully go ahead with DAB+, and with Alain Claes as head of the group’s innovation department, opportunities for new stations were created. “We launched the new Joe channels and DAB+ also became a facilitator for a new station,” said Moens.

“We wanted something novel — and Willy became the group’s first digital-only station, broadcasting via DAB+, streaming and the Radioplayer platform,” he said.

“Willy was part of a business plan,” added Claes. “This has to be seen as a long-term investment and although we offer a modest program today, the new station has received a lot of enthusiasm from advertisers because it offers a new potential audience market. With DAB+ tripling its penetration here, we are confident in Willy’s future.”

Willy is complementary to Qmusic and Joe. With the tagline “Music Matters,” the new station targets the “music lovers” audience bracket. “It’s all about music and people talking about it,” continued Moens, who is Willy’s music director.

MODERN STRUCTURE Editors were the first international band to take the “Free Willy” studio

The station invited a cast of music and media personalities to host its Friday program roster. Musicians like Triggerfinger’s Ruben Block, television director Tim van Aelst and presenter Sofie Engelen received “carte blanche.”

Moens added that the only prerequisite is that “they are passionate about music and their playlist includes a guitar segment.” The rest of the week, Willy offers a no speech music format. Friday night’s “Free Willy” show is the platform for bands, interviews and album presentations.

Although Willy wasn’t planned when Joe and Qmusic moved to the Sound Park studio landscape, the new station benefits from the future-proofed structure.

“To be honest, when we planned the studios, we knew new activities would be coming our way,” said Alain Claes. “In-house production of commercials and jingles, podcasts, micro-podcasts — they all require studio space and today, it’s nice to see that we have the capacity.”

Willy broadcasts from one of Sound Park’s studios, which the broadcaster build this summer. The station makes use of a DHD RX2 console, Dalet Galaxy playout system, Neumann TLM102 mics and a Technics SL1200 turntable.

The post Music Matters to Willy appeared first on Radio World.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC/Commission) is correcting final rules that had typographical errors that were published in three separate reports in the Federal Register. In those documents, the Commission used table 8 MHz maximum authorized bandwidth channels that had an error in various rules. This document corrects the errors.

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Granted HC2's Request for Dismissal of Mandatory Carriage Complaint

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With a move to a new location already on tap, Lincs FM in the United Kingdom recently updated six of its studios with audio over IP equipment from AEQ and Dante.

Working with service provider Broadcast Radio, Lincs FM installed a Forum IP Split consoles that uses Dante AoIP Network signals and works with a central Routing Network Matrix Netbox 32 MX.

All signals in the studio, except for “local” microphone inputs, are exclusively in Dante and are concentrated to/from the Netbox 32 MX. The Netbox system provides 64×64 channels program and antennae matrix at the same time as it interconnects all the studios in the network.

As a result of the flexibility of the installation, all signals in the network can be shared with any studio. Routing and summing of all network signals is done through the Netbox 32 MX, which can be executed either manually or automatically from any mixing console or with the stations group also newly acquired Myriad 5 Playout automation system. Additional features like alarms and level monitoring are also possible through the Netbox platform.

Lincs FM is now operating out of a new studio complex facility that also houses Dearne FM, Ridings FM, Rother FM and Trax FM.

The post Lincs FM Group Updates Studios With AEQ, Dante AoIP Tech appeared first on Radio World.

Illegal broadcasting and media modernization continue to be top of mind at the Federal Communications Commission, as evidenced by recent remarks delivered by FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly when he addressed the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association’s annual Sound Bites event. His speech centered on pirate radio, payola concerns and media modernization efforts, among other policy updates of interest to broadcasters.

O’Rielly noted the spread of illegal radio stations from large to smaller markets, in addition to ever-increasing sophistication on the part of unregulated operators. He said the commission is “playing a long game here, and there is reason to be optimistic,” especially now that “Senate passage of the PIRATE Act is imminent.”

[Read: NYSBA Honors Native Son O’Rielly as New Yorker of the Year]

He explained that the PIRATE Act’s fine increases are meant not only to punish offenders, but to make sure these cases get on the radar of the Department of Justice. Additionally, O’Rielly said the act will speed up and streamline the commission’s timeline to file notices of apparent liability for pirates. He also cited the forthcoming list of licensed radio operators (required by the PIRATE Act) as another enforcement tool, one which citizens and advertisers can use to distinguish between legitimate stations and savvy pirates.

However, O’Rielly conceded that legislation alone won’t eradicate the problem, so the commission is “also deploying state of the art technology to make it very difficult for pirates to escape scrutiny.”

O’Rielly also addressed the issue of payola as it relates to the current broadcast laws and streaming. The practice was outlawed in 1960, and O’Rielly said he plans to explore whether the issue persists or if record companies have instituted policies that prevent the bribery — and if so, what are these safeguards.

Payola is a legacy regulation, and he questioned whether it might not fall under the umbrella of Chairman Pai’s Media Modernization initiative. But until the issue is addressed, O’Rielly pointed out, “there will continue to be two different sets of rules based on whether listeners tune in over-the-air or stream programming online.”

In his speech, O’Rielly also proposed “a guaranteed right at license renewal for a station to supplement its Issues Programming List” in order to make the documents less “over-inclusive” out of fear. O’Rielly acknowledged the Media Bureau’s efforts to help stations come into or stay in compliance, but indicated he believes this formalized system makes more sense.

The post O’Rielly Tells MBA “We Are Playing a Long Game” Against Pirate Operators appeared first on Radio World.

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