Industry News

The author of this commentary is director, business development for CommScope.

As the auction for the much-coveted C-Band spectrum kicks off, we are another step into the complicated process to relocate or repack C-Band FSS earth stations.

While the process has been very well explained, it’s worth taking a little more time to discuss some more background and some of the impacts.

Let’s start off by highlighting the new band plan illustrated below in Fig.1.

Fig. 1: 3.7 GHz Service Band Plan

The Federal Communications Commission has reallocated the lower 280 MHz of the band to be auctioned for new 5G uses and renamed it the 3.7 GHz Service.

This means that all the earth stations in the 3.7–4.0 GHz portion of the band will have to be repacked, or relocated, into the upper 200 MHz (4.0–4.2 GHz). The FCC also allowed for a 20 MHz guard band between the new 5G entrants and the relocated earth stations.

Repacking will be accomplished in two phases:

• Phase I – Earth stations in the lower 100 MHz of the band (3.7–3.8 GHz) must be repacked by December 5, 2021.
• Phase II – Remaining earth stations must be repacked by December 5, 2023.

Based on the FCC’s latest list of incumbent earth stations, there are close to 16,000 as shown in Fig. 2 seen farther below. Intel has put these into the following categories:

Broadcast, Religious, Radio, Data: 9% Cable: 9% LDS: 19% Other: 63%

The majority of these earth stations are capable of receiving across the entire 3.7–4.2 GHz band. In addition, since these earth stations typically receive from several satellites, they are configured to operate across the full satellite arc. Thus, the challenge is compressing earth stations into 200 MHz from 500 MHz, possibly configuring to receive from fewer satellites and in some cases, actual physical relocation.

The effect of this moving or compression on the earth stations will be mostly related to modification of existing equipment including:

• Limiting their receive band to the 4.0–4.2 GHz range
• Re-orientation of antennas to different satellites as needed
• Possible filtering required to mitigate interference
• Possible physical relocation if new siting is required or desired

The main challenge for earth station licensees will be managing the logistics and timing required to make the changes needed to their respective systems.

Fortunately, earth station operators don’t necessarily have to foot the bill for this on their own.

The FCC proceeding for this band clearing / repurposing / auctioning is complex, but it affords earth station operators the opportunity to have repacking or relocation costs covered by the new 3.7 GHz Service entrants.

Fig. 2: Earth Stations and Phase 1/2 Market Areas

In late July, the FCC issued a Public Notice (DA 20-802) announcing publication of its “3.7 GHz Transition Final Cost Category Schedule Of Potential Expenses And Estimated Costs.” This catalog describes the potential expenses and estimated costs that incumbent earth station operators may incur as a result of the repacking or relocation.

The FCC worked with RKF Engineering Solutions LLC to develop the catalog. It includes any necessary changes that will allow the earth stations to receive C-Band services throughout the transition — and after the applicable relocation deadline once satellite operators have relocated their services into the upper portion of the band.

The FCC has noted that it is likely most earth stations that are repacking will require filtering to prevent interference from new 5G users operating below 3980 MHz. It is important to note that this conclusion is supported by a multi-stakeholder group representing a diverse collection of many different interested companies and organizations who assembled to study terrestrial-satellite coexistence during and after the transition.

The group (called Technical Working Group 1, “TWG-1”) created a best practices report concluding that: “3.7 GHz Service operators and earth station operators should work cooperatively to avoid interference problems during the network design stage and continue to work cooperatively to resolve interference problems that may arise.”

Members of the TWG discussed possible coordination between new 3.7 GHz Service operators and incumbent earth station operators — yet could not come to a conclusion on how to establish and manage a coordination process. Earth station operators may wish to keep track of the 3.7 GHz Service auction results and possibly contact auction winners in your area, particularly those operating in the 3.9–3.98 GHz portion of the band.

As mentioned, this is one of the most complex proceedings the FCC has undertaken, similar to the TV station repacking where all the TV stations above channel 38 were repacked into channels 2-31 to make way for new wireless operators.

The good news is that this completed with few major issues, other than taking a little longer than expected. So, as we continue stepping through this process, it’s helpful knowing this isn’t the first time. As well, there is plenty of information and help available to smooth the transition.

The post Repacking C-Band Earth Stations appeared first on Radio World.

The Hawaiian island of Maui is known for many things, including its own variation of the cowboy — the upcountry Paniolo. In towns such as Makawao, horses and farming still can be widely seen in the shadow of Haleakala.

This explains why one local operator provides Country programming via a 69kw Class C FM.

As of today, its majority owner will no longer hold attributable interest in the station, transferring his shares to the operator’s President. It’s an individual largely credited with bringing hip-hop to Indianapolis.

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A noncommercial religious FM radio station that debuted in 1991 and shifted to its current broadcast frequency in 2010 is ready to make the latest update to its operations in Sanford, Me.

A new tower site on the New Hampshire side of the Maine state line is ready to be fired up by this station devoted to “The Word” of G-d. And, it is using a new Dielectric DCR-H FM
antenna that’s just been installed and ready to radiate to bring new vigor to its broadcasts.

The new transmission system is expected to be fired up in the early days of 2021 by WSEW-FM 88.7 — a Class B that’s getting a power increase with the new antenna.

Until getting a construction permit for its jump in wattage, WSEW was a 10kw facility from a site just to the west of Sanford, Me., bringing a city-grade signal to Portsmouth, N.E. Now, with 17kw from the Barrington, N.H., site, much improved coverage of greater Portsmouth is being had, while its distance now stretches to Old Orchard Beach, Me. in the north to Newburyport, Mass. in the south.

“While the location change brings us closer to higher-density populations, we needed a
completely new antenna system design with a difficult to achieve directional pattern,” said
Ron Malone, President of Word Radio, who operates and administrates WSEW and four
other Non-Commercial FM stations in Maine and New Hampshire. “Dielectric delivered the
circular polarization we needed to reach our audience with greater signal quality and
stability than our current antenna. We also now have a well-engineered antenna built to
withstand challenging climate for the decades ahead.”

WSEW’s market penetration was previously limited with the use of a log-periodic antenna
system solution using linear, slant polarization.

In addition to the advantages of circular polarization, the side-mounted, six-bay antenna will have a prime position on the 400-foot tower to maximize coverage, with its center of radiation at 287 feet above ground level.

“Listeners traveling through our coverage area will no longer sometimes hear the swishing
sound of multipath, or experience occasional signal drops,” said Malone. “Our position on
the upper third of the tower, along with the circular polarization, will greatly improve the
listener experience for legacy and new listeners.”

The new Dielectric antenna also includes a radome.

Malone added, “For maximum reliability in adverse weather conditions, broadcasters generally choose to protect their radiating elements by covering them with radome enclosures. That is what we have elected to do as part of the DCR-H design. Allowing ice to form on the antenna will de-tune the system, and reflect power back down the transmission line. The antenna loses its ability to radiate its designed allotted power (17kW ERP), and creates problems for the transmitter. Dielectric’s radome eliminates these reflected power concerns caused by wintry weather, and offers a far more affordable option that adding electrical heaters within the antenna elements, which after a few years develop maintenance issues.”

Malone also says that once a decision was made to work with Dielectric, “they went straight to work with computer modeling. They used a collaborative software program to develop the directional radiation pattern using scaled tower models, radiator sizes, dimensions and test frequency while factoring orientation of the antenna for our tower position and geographic spread. They met a tough deadline for delivery with good communication skills and very fair pricing. They basically treated our small organization as if we were VIPs.”

In early November, RBR+TVBR was first to report on a transaction that sees HC2 Holdings say goodbye to a trio of digital full-power TV stations — along with a LPTV facility — in the Valley of the Sun.

Now, the deal has gained FCC approval, giving the company behind the MeTV brand added oomph in some key markets.

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NEW YORK — When production integration company Jetwave Wireless needed a way to broadcast in voiceover talent during the major network broadcasts of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting, project engineer Josh Flower turned to Digigram’s IQOYA *SERV/LINK, a multi-channel IP audio codec, and paired it with IQOYA TALK, a portable IP audio codec designed for live and remote broadcasting.

Used to make live announcements before and after commercial breaks, Flower selected the *SERV/LINK and TALK for their remote-control capability.

The *SERV/LINK was used locally at broadcast truck compound, while the IQOYA TALK was used at the voiceover talent’s home located on Long Island — miles away from site of the broadcasts in Manhattan.

“We had been looking for an audio-over-IP solution that features broadcast-quality audio, and the IQOYA device came to our attention,” Flower said. “We did some testing and it proved to be an easily deployable solution in situations where internet and IP might not feature the best setups and where we might have some concerns. For instance, during these broadcasts the voiceover talent was coming in live from their home and relying on their home internet. The technology in the IQOYA devices helped us get over those challenges.”

Flower said that the simplicity of connecting the IQOYA TALK back to the *SERV/LINK was key.

“In this situation, the remote-control ability which allowed the voiceover talent to plug the box into their home internet and be up and running within a few minutes was important,” Flower said. “We were able to, all the way from 34th Street in Manhattan, control everything about his audio path which was great.”

— Dominick Stern, in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

The National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE), the content producers, distributors, streamers and buyers association that’s gained the attention of brokers and top broadcast TV industry leaders for its annual NATPE Miami affair, has unveiled its full slate of virtually delivered sessions and speakers for its upcoming 2021 event.

It’s a four-day online event focused on four channels, and programmed, NATPE says, “as a television business newscast.”

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PERTH, AUSTRALIA — codec manufacturer Tieline has confirmed that the new Gateway Multichannel IP audio codec is now available to purchase and is now shipping.

The Tieline Gateway is a DSP-based 1RU IP codec enabling transport of multiple channels of mono or stereo audio across the Public Internet or any QoS-enabled IP network, including T1 and T3 connections and private WANs with MPLS. The Gateway streams up to 16 IP audio channels with support for AES67, ST 2110-30, AES3 and analog I/O as standard.

“This is an exciting day for Tieline and is the culmination of many months of research, design and development,” said Tieline CEO Will McLean. “Broadcasters these days want more functionality within a compact rackmount footprint, combined with simple connectivity and flexible remote control features. The new generation Gateway codec delivers best-in-class functionality and interoperability for IP streaming over WANs, as well as integration with AES67 and ST 2110-30 compatible networks.”

Gateway Replaces Merlin PLUS and Genie Distribution Codecs
“The Gateway is perfect for large-scale audio distribution as well as managing multiple incoming remotes at the studio,” Tieline says. “It will immediately replace and supersede the popular Merlin PLUS and Genie Distribution codecs by delivering more connection options, flexible scalability over time, as well as new IP technologies.”

The Gateway integrates with all Tieline IP codecs and delivers hitless packet switching using SmartStream PLUS redundant streaming, plus bandwidth aggregation using Fuse-IP technologies over internet connections. It supports 16 bidirectional mono or 8 bidirectional stereo streams of IP audio in 1RU to increase channel density and reduce rack space requirements.

It is interoperable with all Tieline IP codecs and compatible over SIP with all EBU N/ACIP Tech 3326 and 3368 compliant codecs and devices.

The Gateway has two standard versions. One supports 8 Channels in/out (8 Mono or 4 Stereo) and the other supports 16 Channels in/out (16 Mono or 8 Stereo). The codec also supports a flexible upgrade path that allows you to buy a Gateway with 8 channels and upgrade the codec over time as needs change or your network expands.

The Tieline Gateway interfaces with analog and AES/EBU sources, as well as newer broadcast plants with AES67 and ST 2110-30 IP audio infrastructure. An optional WheatNet-IP card will also be available.

Gateway is configurable through an embedded HTML5 Toolbox Web-GUI interface and is also fully controllable using Tieline’s Cloud Codec Controller.

Notice About Discontinued Merlin PLUS and Genie Distribution Codecs The Gateway codec supersedes the Merlin PLUS and Genie Distribution codecs and production of these codecs has ceased. Tieline will continue to provide support and software updates for the Merlin PLUS and Genie Distribution.

Segregation, Segmentation and Storytelling.

That’s the attention-getting hook for a February 16 NATPE virtual event designed to place a spotlight on the business of African American-focused television.

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“This is a great tool for TV reporters to easily capture, save and share their notes.” That’s the pitch from the makers of the THINKERS Notebook, a new product designed for cloud-based creation and sharing needs.

It comes from Dallas-based THINKERS Manifesto, and it’s been build with the expressed purpose of allowing users to capture ideas on paper and share them in the cloud.

“Designed for thinkers from the boardroom to the classroom, the THINKERS Notebook combines a uniquely designed, 256-page, 5mm dot grid, lay flat journal with an intuitive mobile app for quickly capturing and collaborating on pages from the notebook,” the company notes.

CEO and co-founder Sean Jackson adds, “The THINKERS Notebook is an elegantly crafted, premium quality notebook unlike any on the market today, and what makes it truly special is the way the THINKERS App is optimized to seamlessly capture pages from the notebook and makes collaborating on those ideas effortless.”

The notebook uses a unique page design; optimized for capturing notes using the free companion THINKERS App for iOS (Android version coming soon), that does not require a QR code or special symbols on the page.

At the top of each page is an area for writing page titles and tags. Users may take a photo of each page and using machine learning technology, the app automatically detects handwriting on the pages and converts written titles and tags into organized notes within the app.

Beyond handwriting recognition, the app also includes an advanced web-based collaboration system for sharing ideas with others on the web along with built-in cloud storage capabilities and a unique location feature for finding notes on a map.

“Most smart notebooks require a QR code or a special pen,” says Daniel Reiling, co-founder and lead iOS developer. “By building our own machine learning algorithm, we are able to automatically detect pages from our notebook and convert handwriting into titles, tags and searchable text without having to add anything to the page or require you to use a special pen.”

ABOUT THIS PRODUCT The THINKERS Notebook is available for $29.95 at https://thinkersnotebook.com/ and is the perfect solution for consultants, students, and creative professionals that want to unlock their creative ideas – from paper to the cloud. The THINKERS Notebook is a sophisticated journal with 256 numbered pages using 120 gsm off-white paper (suitable for any type of pen or pencil) with thread-binding that provides a perfect lay flat design that is convenient to use in front of the computer. The cover consists of black bonded leather with soft touch coating and colored edging that provides a remarkable 360º design that stands out from other notebooks. As a bonus feature, the THINKERS Notebook includes a special access code to the THINKERS Workshop. Normally $99.99 per year, this special access code allows any notebook customer to join the Workshop for free. The THINKER Workshop includes a wide variety of tools, presentations and insights to help individuals learn the most effective techniques to maximize the results of their own thinking.

Heartland Video Systems has recently completed over a dozen successful NextGen TV system implementations with several major TV station groups.

The preparation for these started 20 years ago with work done on ATSC 1.0.

Dennis Klas, CEO of Heartland, recalls, “When we were integrating ATSC 1.0 there was always a rush to get stations on the air quickly. This was a challenge because everyone was working with new technologies with little integration history. As ATSC 3.0 came into view, Heartland made a commitment to build an integration lab where we could test connectivity between different ATSC 3.0 products.”

By the time ATSC 3.0 implementations began, Heartland Video had products from most prominent suppliers under one roof enabling them to run product combinations and predict results. “Just as with ATSC 1.0 we find that the order dates for product installations were not far from the station turn on dates,” he adds. “With this time crunch, being able to test possible integration combinations in advance is invaluable.”

Heartland was introduced to DigiCAP through their involvement with Pearl TV, where they heard DigiCAP had proven itself useful to some members.

Mike Schmidt, Senior Systems Engineer at Heartland, notes, “Because we like to test all available prominent suppliers, we evaluated their technology.”

Klas adds, “We found DigiCAP had a product some of our clients could use. We also found DigiCAP to be very responsive to our requests, and has a forward-looking technology view, especially in app development. We have implemented their air chain technology with several station groups with very positive results.”

Sang Jin Yoon, SVP Business Development at DigiCAP, was excited to be working with Heartland Video Systems in implementing ATSC 3.0 station launches. “When we saw their integration lab, we immediately recognized a like-minded commitment to proactively work with new technology,” he says.

DigiCAP built their lab ATSC 3.0 integration lab in 2017 to enable Korean TV stations become ATSC 3.0 ready to transmit live 4K TV for the 2018 South Korean Winter Olympic games.