JasonOwen–TheThreeMedia’sandSpectrumManagementinAustralia 1

TheThreeMedia’sandSpectrumManagementinAustralia:December20th,2015History:Throughoutthelatetwentiethcentury,wirelessvoicecommunicationsintheBroadcast,EntertainmentandMediasectorsmovedfromtheVHFbandthroughtotheUHFsegmentdrivenmainlybygovernmentchangesinordertoleveragemoreefficientuseandrevenuegenerationthroughthesellingofsuchspectrum.Today,theBroadcastandEventindustriesinAustraliaprimarilyusethe450-520MHzbandfortheirvoiceanddatacommunications,mostofwhicharestillruninanalogue.TherearealsomultipleDECTandVOIPproductsinthemarket,howevernoneofthesehasreallyhadanypenetrationintothethreemedia’sinrealnumberswhencomparedtotwo-wayradio’s.Oneofthelimitingfactorsthatkeepusersinthis450-520Mhzbandisthecapitalrequiredtomoveintoothersegmentsofthespectrum,asitrequiresacompletehardwarereplacement.ItisworthnotingthattheEventsectorhasshownsomewillingnesstomoveontotrunkedand/ordigitalsystems.ThescaleofefficiencyofferedthroughtrunkingcanworkintheEventsworldifengineeredproperly.However,fortelevision,itisalmostcompletelyignored.Supportingthisisalargerangeofvendorsalongwithasuiteofdifferenttechnology’sdeliveringvoiceand/ordataacrossthatband.Industryreluctancetochangeshouldalsobeconsideredandactscountertogovernmentaimsinthebroaderspectrummanagementchallenge.FromanengineeringperspectivethereisahugegapinsuitablyqualifiedpersonnelwithrelativeexperiencetomanagediverseRfsites.Thisfallsbacktothecollapseoftechnologytrainingaround15-17yearsago,withmostofthetop-endofRfengineer’sinAustralia,nowintheover40agegroup.Thereisalsoahugereluctancetopurchasesuitabletestandmeasurementequipmentintheindustry.Thisleadstopoorengineeringofsystems,quiteoftenoverpoweredwithpoorcabling,antennachoiceandintermodulationissues.Weshouldalsoacknowledgethatinthelargerschemeofusergroups,theconflatedBroadcast,Entertainment,andMediasectorsarequitesmall.Ifweconsiderallthreelevelsofgovernment,firstresponders,anddefencewhohaveliterally10’softhousandsofhandsetswithinoneorganisation,theBroadcastandEventsindustryisrelativelyquitesmall.Thishasadirecteffectonourabilityasanindustrytolobbyforlegislativeand/orframeworkchangesthatsuitourneedsbothcurrentandfuture.Moreover,ourreluctancetoengageand/orchange,hasleftusinpoorsteadwithsuchbodiesandtodaymakestheargumentallthathardertohave.

JasonOwen–TheThreeMedia’sandSpectrumManagementinAustralia 2

ACMA’sLicensingScheme:ThisisoneareathatcausesthemostconfusionwhenattemptingtomanagespectrumlicensinginAustralia.AcknowledgingthattheexplanationIamofferingisnotacomprehensiveone,therearebasicallytwotypesoflicensingavailableforusersofUHFradios;nationalandsitebased.Thenationallicenceofferstheusera,‘nointerferencenoprotection’caveatwhichinlayman’stermsmeans,youcannotinterferewithanyotherserviceonthatchannel,andconverselyyouwillnotreceiveanysupportifyoureceiveanyinterferenceonthatchannel.Examiningsomeofthehighownershiplicencesinourbandrevealalicensedusergroupofwellover100ownerswhoallholdnationallicencesforthatonechannel.Intodaystechnologydrivensociety,thechancesofhavingmultipleusersonthesamenationallicenceatacomplexRfsitetoday,ismediumtohigh,withnoonepartyhavingtherighttoasktheothertoturnofftheirserviceiftheyarebothonthesamenationallicencedfrequency.Thesecond,morecontrolledoptionistheSiteLicence.Here,aserviceisgeographicallytiedtoaspecificlocation.Beitafootballstadium,motorracingcircuit,horseracingtrack,orbuildingrooftopintheCBD.Theselicencesareprotectedfrominterference,butmustalsonotcauseanyinterferencewithotherco-channelsitelicencedservicesinthearea.Therearesomegeographicboundariesaroundthere-useofSitelicences,thesearedifferentforhighandlowpower,simpleandduplex,furtherfuellingtheneedforspecialisedRfpersonaltomanagethisinfrastructure.Thedaysof‘wingingit’arewellandtrulyover! HighPower:(83WattsEIRP) Simplex:140kmbeforeitcanbereused.Boundedbya40kmservicearea.

Duplex:100kmbeforeitcanbereused.Boundedbya40kmservicearea.LowerPower:(8.3WattsEIRP)Simplex:10kmbeforeitcanbereused.Boundedbya2kmservicearea.Duplex:Asabove.

Whatthistranslatesto,isifyouownanationalduplexlicence,andthereisahighpoweredsiteduplexlicenceonyourchannelwithin100km’syoucannotuseyournationallicence.Asyoucanimagine,inbuiltuparea’swheretheuseofUHFservicesishigh,thechancesoffindinganationallicencetouseisminimal.Moreover,withthenewlimitsimposedpost2014(moreonthisbelow),theriskofthisbeinganunworkablesolutionisgreatlyincreased.Changespost2014:2014sawaraftofchangestothe450-520MHzbandthatweoperatein.Shufflingofmultiplegovernmentservicesdownontothe450-470Mhzsegmentandthereassignmentofmanyprivateservicestoabovethatmeantasqueezeforspectruminanalreadyheavilyutilizedband.

JasonOwen–TheThreeMedia’sandSpectrumManagementinAustralia 3

Oneofthebiggestchangesistheshallowingofthepoolofnationalsimplexandduplexassignmentsavailableacrosstheband.Wenowfaceapoolof22nationalduplexpairstobeassignedacrossthecountry.Forthoseuserswithexistinglicencespriortothischange,therewasarangeofoptionsincludinghavingyourlicencesre-assigned(tooneofthe22),orkeepingitinitscurrentguisefornow!ThiswasatthedeterminationoftheACMA,andingeneralwasavailableontheirwebsiteforuserstodigestwellbeforethechangesweremadeofficially.Toputtheshortcomingsofsuchasmallpoolintoperspective,largeeventscanusewellover100differentsimplex/duplexchannelsatonesite.Thesechangesmakemanagingspectrumevenmoredifficultasthenationallicensingschemenotonlyofferslow-value,butisalsoaself-managedsystem,whichisfraughtwithincompetenceandpoorlyskilledoperatorscapableofruiningthebest-madeplansbynotcentrallymanagingtheirspectrumonlargesites.Italsoraisestheriskofusersignoringthecomplianceandrunning‘withoutacare’,theeffectsofcoursecanbecatastrophic.ThebestoptionhereistoownsitelicencesforallthemajorvenuesaBroadcasterorEventcompanymayworkin.ThisfromanengineeringPOVisthebestoptionasyouhaveprotectionandingeneralhavebeenassignedchannelsthatwontinterferewithothersitelicenceswithintheserviceguaranteearea.However,financiallyitisadisaster,andwilldriveupthecostofownershiptobusiness’soperatingradiosystems.Intimeswhereeverycentisscrutinised,havingsuchalargeincreaseinspectrumlicencingisachallengeforoperatorstomanageandfundongoing.FutureChallenges:Themergingofanever-developinglegislativeframeworkmanagedbytheACMA,andtechnologyadvancesinsomewaysdrivenbythesechanges,allowsavendortoleveragethe‘need’forindustrytoadoptnewtechnology.Todaytheyaremutuallyinclusivewithmanufacturersoftenabletolobbygovernmentmoreeffectivelythanendusers.InmanycasesthisisaworkablesolutionfromanoperationalandengineeringPOV,howeveralsorequiresaheavycapitalinvestmenttoalignthecapabilitiesacrossabusiness,letaloneanindustrysectorlikeBroadcast!Thiscapitalinvestmentiswhereitallcomestoahalt,especiallyifthereisaperceivedchangeindelivery.IE:DigitalvAnalogue.Broadcast,Entertainment,andMediaarealsotraditionally;veryreluctanttochangewhenitcomestoacommunicationsplatform,‘itworks,whychange’or‘dowehavetochange?’beingthecatchphrasesendemicintheindustry.Thiswillbediscussedinmoredetaillater.WhatIseeintothefutureisanongoingprocesswherelikeothertechnologysectors,wewillconvergeplatformssuchas4G,FM,Wi-fi,andonlineallintoonehandset.TheenduserbeinglargelyunawareofhowtheirvoicegetsfromAtoBasthehandset/networkwillmakeitsowndeterminationonwhattransmissionmediumtotakeinternally.Again,formanyusergroupsoutsideofthethreemedia’sthiswilldeliverarealincreaseinvalueaffordedtocommunicationssystems.Mediaorganisationswillneedtobeopenmindedinfacingthefuture

JasonOwen–TheThreeMedia’sandSpectrumManagementinAustralia 4

technologyoptionsaslegacyonesareeitherlegislatedoutofexistenceornolongersupportedbyvendors.ExpectationsintheBroadcast,Entertainment,andMediasectors:IrememberwhenIfirststartedintelevisionbackin1991.Itwasthedaysofanalogue,of4:3andVHF.Today,manyoftheexpectationsfromthosedaysstillexistasthebenchmarkforwhatcontentcreatorsanddisseminatorsdemand.Specificfunctionalitysuchasconstanttransmitservices,low-latency(analogue),andreliabilitybuttresswhatisamusthavesuiteoffeatures.Unpackingeachofthese,wefirstexaminetheconstanttransmitservice.Usedtodirectandinformtelevision,radio,andeventstaffofastep-by-stepproductionworkflow.Iseethisastheprimarybattle-spaceforchangefromanaloguetodigital.Itisthelifebloodofanylivetelevisionbroadcastyouwatcheverysingleday.Thisdovetailsintotheseconddeliverablebeinglatency.Theabilityforatelevisiondirectortocallcamerashots,orcue’sfortalentisparamounttoexecutingaslickliveproduction.Introducinglatencywithdigitalsystemsisatleastfornowsomethinguserscomplainaboutasitbeing,‘notthesame,tooslow’.Ibelievethateventually,analogueserviceswillsimplydisappearfromtheoptionswhenlicensingservices,andthattechnologywillimprovethelatencythusgivingusaworkablesolution.Therealquestionistime…Thethirdexpectationliesaroundreliability.OverthepasttenorsoyearstherehasbeenanincreaseinwhatIcall‘userbeta-testing’.Manufacturerswithpressuretogetproducttomarketinthefastpacedtechnologyworld,releaseproductswithaclose-toworkingfeaturesetandlettheuser’sbeta-testthedevice.Manufacturersthenfollowupwithfirmwareupgradesinordertosolvethoseissues.Severalmanufacturersarealsocentralisingtheirmaintenancefacility,whichunlesssupportedbyalocalofficeordealers,buildstimeingettingequipmentreplacedorrepaired.Thishasseveralflow-oneffectsinthemediaindustrybecauseweareatrue24/7/365industry.One,withoutquestionitdamagesthebrandofthatdevice.Two,itdilutesthewillingnesstochangeifthenewproductisnotafinishedproduct,andthree,itraisesthepotentialforthemediatobeleftbehindwhereotherindustrieshaveadoptedtheirbusinesstosuitnewtechnologyratherthanwaitfortheopposite.Wheretofromhere:ThispaperwaswrittentohighlighttocurrentchallengestheBroadcast,EntertainmentandMediasectorsfacewiththeirwirelessvoicecommunications.Thereisnoquestionthatsince2014,wenowfaceaspectrumthatneedstobemanagedproperly,andwithconsiderationforinvestment.Thesechangeswehavegonethrougharedefinitelynotthelast,asanindustrywemustbereadytoquestionourworkflow,andourneedswhenitcomestocommunications.Technologydevelopmentneedstobeembracedandbuiltintoourcommunicationsparadigm.

JasonOwen–TheThreeMedia’sandSpectrumManagementinAustralia 5

IntheshorttermIbelievetherearefouractionsthatneedtobetakeninordertosureupthereliabilityofexistingUHFservicesforthethreemedia’s.

o Sitelicensingofallmajorvenuesbyprimarysupplierso ACMAEnforcementofacentralisedmanagementofspectrumfor

largeeventso Engagementofqualifiedand/orsuitablyexperiencedspectrum

managerso Procurementandtrainingofsuitabletestequipment

Inthelongerterm,aformaleducationprogramshouldbere-established,anindustrybodyformedtofacilitaterepresentation,andexaminationofhowotherindustriesusecommunicationsasaworkflow-glueratherthanalastthought.WeektoweekImanagetheEventCommunicationsdivisionforGearhouseBroadcastAustralia.ThisincludesspectrummanagementfortheentirefleetofOutsideBroadcastfacilities,andtheV8SupercarscompetitionacrossallBroadcastandMotorsportservicesintheVHFandUHFbands.andVHFandUHFspectrumfortheV8Supercarscompetition.Thistalliesuptoaround150servicesforeachracemeetingoveraseven-dayperiod.IhavealsoworkedonmultipleOlympicgames,andWorldCup’s,designedandbuiltlargerepeaternetworksforovertwentyyears.Gearhouseoffersacompletespectrummanagementservice,dryhireandmanagedeventcommunicationsservicesalongsidetheirOutsideBroadcastoffering.JasonOwenManagingDirector–D2Nhttp://d2n.com.au/http://www.gearhousebroadcast.com/au(CommentsinthispaperarenottheopinionsofGearhouseBroadcast)