Sandy's Blog Page
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Ofcom’s PMSE Stakeholders Workshop 18th July 2007 |
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Well, that was a bit of a waste of time! We were treated to presentations by Phillip Rutnam and Steve Roper of Ofcom, and Mike Reynolds from Sagentia Ltd - the Consultants - who still insist on using the flaky data from the JMG Ltd database in spite of being told by us and JFMG Ltd. that this was not representative of true radiomic use in the UK - groan…. It was really an exercise in raking over old coals. Nothing really new came out of the meeting other than Ofcom were still working on the problems they have created and will be making further announcements soon - can’t wait…. During the presentations, the emphasis was still on ‘market forces’ and ‘making the PMSE Industry more efficient in use of spectrum’. A major point in reply to this from our Manufacturer friends was if they could put more channels into the available spectrum by any technology, they would, and since they were all in competition with each other, the first to do it would gain market advantage, anyway, without any help or pressure from Ofcom. What they needed at present is a clear picture of what PMSE spectrum will look like during and after the Digital Spectrum Switchover. But Ofcom are still working on that, watch this space…. Some rather misleading pie charts of PMSE spectrum and use were presented. They showed that we had LOTS of spectrum above 1 GHz and we don’t use it. The point was made by several in the audience that to put GHz body worn Radiomic packs on people would require much higher radiated power to overcome body absorption and give any sort of range and we quickly get into the debate about RF safety and frying the talent! Also battery life becomes a joke. At this point, our Ofcom friends stated that they were not technical experts(!) so they couldn’t confirm or deny this claim but thought that, maybe, future technology developments might allow this. To quote that well-know StarTrek officer "Ye cannae change the laws of physics!" Ofcom assured us they had no intention to move us up to this area, anyway, but I remain sceptical. Surprisingly to me, Channel 69 was deliberately left out of this ‘workshop’. During questions at the end, I asked if there were plans for a separate meeting on this subject and I was told, no! So Ofcom will make a decision on future use of the Channel then inform us in due course. What was interesting was Philip Rutman pointing out that there may be European Legislation which will affect the use of Channel 69 anyway. (See Page 54 of the ‘Programme-making and special events: future spectrum access’ ). And we are now faced with the irony of Ofcom pitching FOR us at the European level to fulfil their promises. An anomaly in this same document (Page 53) referred to greater use Channel 70. Since there is no official 'TV Channel 70' and it is outside the declared parameters of the DDR, I asked the question, what did Ofcom understand by this and why they thought PMSE could use it, considering that Emergency Services and some Data Services already use it. There IS a small chunk of deregulated license-free spectrum from 863 to 865 MHz that can be used for radiomics but be aware that Maplin and others sell lots of gizmos like wireless surround sound speakers, wireless headphones, TV relay boxes and the like, all operating on these frequencies. I know some of us, like myself, currently use these frequencies for Cue Headphone feeds, not mission critical! They stated that they were indeed referring to this small section. Not really an option for Radiomics in my opinion. A colleague, Ian Sands, sent me the link below to an American Publication - well worth a look! We know that our American colleagues are going through very much the same hoops as ourselves. And what happens there will certainly influence what happens here. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/20/google_to_bid_for_wireless_spectrum/ So where to from here? Another quote: “Let’s see what’s out there….” The great journey into the unknown is still on. Sandy MacRae AMPS Email: sandymacrae@amps.net |
