Moratorium on MDS spectrum licensing issued, more on the horizon

Industry Canada has halted the licensing of spectrum in two major bands as it prepares to undertake a comprehensive review of under-used and unused blocks of airwaves. Late last month, the department sent a letter to the CRTC informing the commission that it had imposed a moratorium on multipoint distribution services (MDS) spectrum licensing in regions of the country where MDS broadcast distribution licences have not been issued. A Gazette Notice is expected to be issued within the next calendar quarter. David Warnes, senior advisor of spectrum policy at Industry Canada, tells Report on Wireless that this moratorium is only the first and that more will be made public in the coming days. "Very shortly, I’ll be posting some other moratoriums that (have) to do with channels 60-69 and channels 63 and 68 for public safety," he says. Bandwidth representing channels 60 to 69, the 700 MHz band, is hotly sought after by public safety stakeholders, which are clamouring for available bandwidth for integrated communication systems. Two years ago, the department proposed a sharing arrangement between broadcasters and public safety operators (RoW, July 9/01; DGTP-004-01). With the issuance of a moratorium on licensing in portions of the 700 MHz band in sight, Industry Canada may be considering harmonizing rules for the 700 MHz band with those south of the border. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opened portions of the band up to public safety in 1997. Warnes says the moratoriums will provide all stakeholders with the same information and will ensure that all the pieces of policy foundation are available for clarity and transparency purposes. "(It’s) also indicating that we’re being more strident perhaps with our position that we allocate and designate spectrum for its best use. It’s the department’s responsibility to make sure for benefit of all Canadians that spectrum doesn’t sit being under-utilized and that it can be quickly brought to market for everyone’s advantage." RoW first reported earlier this year that 2003 could have a busy spectrum policy agenda this summer (RoW, April 29/03). Fern Léger, Industry Canada’s director of spectrum and radio services, told RoW at the time that not only would third-generation wireless consultations begin, but other issues would also be on the docket. The halting of MDS spectrum licensing, commonly referred to as wireless cable services, applies for Alberta, Atlantic Canada and several other regions of the country. The department plans to update the Canadian Table of Frequency Allocations and needs time to consult the industry on issues surrounding the unassigned MDS spectrum (2596-2686 MHz). The moratorium on MDS licensing will therefore remain in effect until the completion of the public consultation, which is expected to take 18 to 24 months. In a June 20 letter to the CRTC, Industry Canada notes that MDS services continue to evolve and it needs time to determine the future of the spectrum. The objective of the consultation is to develop a policy for this slice of spectrum that will provide the maximum benefit to consumers. "We have noticed a significant increase in MDS spectrum being requested for telecommunications services, specifically Internet access. While we have issued conditional radiocommunication carrier licences for Internet service to the MDS operators, we recognize that sufficient spectrum has to be retained for broadcasting purposes to enable the operators to comply with programming distribution obligations of their licences," states the letter, signed by Michael Binder, assistant deputy minister, spectrum, information technologies and telecommunications, at Industry Canada. While there is little doubt fixed wireless Internet access in the MDS band represents significant opportunity going forward, the viability of MDS broadcast distribution services could be under the microscope as there has been little activity on the MDS licensing front for several years. There are only three "major" commercial MDS operators in the country. Several school boards in Manitoba also hold MDS licences. The soon-to-be-released next installment in Decima Publishing’s quarterly market overview report on the digital television market, The Digital Domain: Tracking the Growth and Development of the Canadian Digital TV Distribution Market, shows that wireless cable operators had only 2% of the total digital TV market at the end of the first quarter of 2003. Ontario-based Look Communications Inc., Image Wireless Communications Inc. of Saskatchewan, and Manitoba-based SkyCable had a combined total of 56,000 digital TV subscribers at March 31. It’s unclear at this point whether the review of MDS spectrum will be part of a larger study of bandwidth for third-generation wireless services. The 2596-2686 MHz band has been designated by the International Telecommunication Union as a potential band for 3G. The situation surrounding the band has been precarious in the past as the FCC and Industry Canada added a mobile designation to the 2500 MHz band about 18 months ago, which is designated for multipoint communications services in Canada and instructional fixed television services in the U.S. (RoW, Nov. 27/01). For more information on The Digital Domain report, contact Ryan O’Neill at (613) 230-1984 or via email at roneill@decima.com.

Moratorium on MDS spectrum licensing issued, more on the horizon

News | July 9, 2003

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