STOP PRESS!

The Early Day Motion Petition No.531 in Parliament now has 200 signatures from MPs.  Hopefully, this will stimulate a major debate on the DDR.  Watch this space...

The Ofcom DDR Consultation - so what next?

Are Radiomics an ENDANGERED SPECIES?

It is worth having a look at some of these submissions. They seem to fall into two or three main categories; some Mobile Phone companies making a pitch, as expected; those with a ‘mission’ to have the released capacity used for free-to-air HDTV; and those, like ourselves, concerned about the effects the auction would have on PMSE Radiomic use. Submissions will not be published if confidentiality was requested and I suspect there must be several ‘commercially sensitive’ responses from the big phone companies. To summarise my thinking on these groups, it is unlikely we could live with the Mobile Phones expanding in to our area and we could probably live with the HD lobby.  But our big 'bogyman' is the Wide-area WiFi pitch - this is a complete wipe-out for us. 

In my opinion, there are several documents worth your immediate attention; JFMG Ltd, BBC, UK Film Council and, of course, the PMSE Pro User Group. The BBC has made a long, technical, and surprisingly good rebuttal of most of Ofcom’s plans. The other ‘must read’ is one from Microsoft. It is interesting to see that Microsoft has joined with Dell, Google, HP, Intel and Philips in the USA in their similar lobby with the FCC. One can only assume that the same huge alliance applies here in the UK. They simply dismiss PMSE as unimportant compared with their plans for wide area Wireless Broadband and demand for unregulated license free access to the Interleaved Spectrum, the very area so precious to PMSE. They will use a lot of muscle to secure what must be, to them, enormous commercial advantage so be very afraid! Also worth skimming through is the T-Mobile response. They don’t think we should even have Channel 69! They refer to ‘forcing the PMSE Industry to adopt more efficient technology’ - now what might that be, phone it in?

But our campaign goes on, regardless. BEIRG and the PMSE Pro User Group are taking the matter straight to Parliament. It was understood some time ago that Ofcom were only working to a statutory directive. Although we are engaging in discussion with Ofcom, it is felt that the only place that this can be changed is in Parliament. To date, we have the support of over 175 MPs signing the Early Day Motion to force Parliament to debate the subject. We have a first class spokesman in Peter Luff MP and it is well worth reading his Adjournment Debate speech (on the AMPS Website). Ofcom have already announced a SECOND Consultation period starting maybe sometime in June.  Maybe they are having trouble with so many unexpected submissions?  JFMG Ltd. predict that the final Statement from Ofcom on their analysis of these DDR consultations will not be available before December 2007.  Ofcom said that they wanted to start the sell-off in 2008.  So the candle is now burning from both ends?

And I am quite serious about the ‘Endangered Species’ scenario. If the Ofcom plan goes ahead unmodified and the vultures have their way, then say goodbye to Radiomics as we know them.  And don't be fooled into a false sense of security with their offer of retaining Channel 69 for Radiomic use.  It would soon become professionally unusable under the existing plan.  We must keep up the pressure and we cannot allow the Digital Dividend Review to become the Digital Disaster Result!

Sandy MacRae AMPS