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Sound Reinforcement - Forums for Live Sound Professionals - Your Displayed Name Must Be Your Real Full Name To Post In The Live Sound Forums => LAB: The Classic Live Audio Board => Topic started by: Jason Glass on May 15, 2014, 01:41:44 PM
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Today the FCC webcasted their open meeting and discussed matters of great importance to everyone working with wireless microphones in the USA. You can see a recorded video of the meeting here: http://www.c-span.org/video/?319385-3/broadcast-tv-spectrum-auction (http://www.c-span.org/video/?319385-1/fcc-meeting-net-neutrality-wireless-spectrum) and the microphone discussion starts at 1:01:00.
Attached are screen shots from the meeting, regarding wireless microphones and the upcoming spectrum auctions.
Here are some key points:
Pro audio users like sound companies and venues, who regularly use more than 50 channels of wireless mics, will be eligible for BAS-LP licenses.
Pro audio can use the currently allowed spectrum during the 39 month transition that will follow the auction in 2015.
The auction will consist of the 600MHz-up band.
Each city will have one 6MHz wide unlicensed microphone "safe haven" channel, but this will be shared with TVBD white space data devices. It will be a different channel in every city, much like today's two mic channels.
TV channel 37 will also open to unlicensed use, but is additionally shared with radio astronomy, TVBD data, and medical telemetry devices.
The reassigned 600MHz band will contain an undetermined number of 4MHz-wide guard bands, and an 11MHz-wide "duplex gap" guard band between uplink and downlink frequency blocks. This is expected to add up to 20 to 34 MHz of usable bandwidth that will be allowed for wireless mic use.
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Today the FCC webcasted their open meeting...
Thanks for posting this Jason. The 39 month transition period and the detail regarding guide bands is particularly helpful - and welcome!
Best regards,
Bob Charest
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Tagged for later viewing on a high bandwidth City internet connection.
But 39 months is encouraging. That's actually a usable time frame to get funding and replacement gear speced and in place.
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Thanks for posting the summary, Jason.
I want everyone to realize the major efforts put forth particularly by Shure and Sennheiser, but also by Audio Technica and Lectrosonics to bring about the positive aspects of what we see here. It was nice to be a part of this coordinated industry lobbying on behalf of the users. A series of meetings in DC is what it took, along with dozens of conference calls and background work. The NAB, the DTV Audio Group, ESPN, NBC, Disney, CP Communications and others were also heavily involved.
The continued loss of spectrum will shape our industry, no doubt. But without efforts like what I've described above, things would be looking much worse.
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Thanks for posting the summary, Jason.
I want everyone to realize the major efforts put forth particularly by Shure and Sennheiser, but also by Audio Technica and Lectrosonics to bring about the positive aspects of what we see here. It was nice to be a part of this coordinated industry lobbying on behalf of the users. A series of meetings in DC is what it took, along with dozens of conference calls and background work. The NAB, the DTV Audio Group, ESPN, NBC, Disney, CP Communications and others were also heavily involved.
The continued loss of spectrum will shape our industry, no doubt. But without efforts like what I've described above, things would be looking much worse.
Hi Karl,
Yes! Hearty thanks to you and the rest for a job well done. We should all also tip our hat to this forum's good friend, Henry Cohen. He was collecting data to support our cause for a long time and it appears that you all were able to use it very effectively to convince the commission of our industry's importance in their band planning.
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Can anyone comment for those of us that aren't wireless savvy?
Are the open bands reserved for unlicensed usage enough for small operators to squeeze a few channels of wireless into? I work with a band that has a rack of 5 Shure PSM 900 in the 600mhz range and they have no budget to replace it as most of it is still being paid off. Hoping we'll be able to squeeze it in to the white spaces as we're out on tours.
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Can anyone comment for those of us that aren't wireless savvy?
Are the open bands reserved for unlicensed usage enough for small operators to squeeze a few channels of wireless into? I work with a band that has a rack of 5 Shure PSM 900 in the 600mhz range and they have no budget to replace it as most of it is still being paid off. Hoping we'll be able to squeeze it in to the white spaces as we're out on tours.
The short answer is "yes".
If you read Jason's comments here:
Pro audio can use the currently allowed spectrum during the 39 month transition that will follow the auction in 2015.
The auction will consist of the 600MHz-up band.
Each city will have one 6MHz wide unlicensed microphone "safe haven" channel, but this will be shared with TVBD white space data devices. It will be a different channel in every city, much like today's two mic channels.
TV channel 37 will also open to unlicensed use, but is additionally shared with radio astronomy, TVBD data, and medical telemetry devices.
The reassigned 600MHz band will contain an undetermined number of 4MHz-wide guard bands, and an 11MHz-wide "duplex gap" guard band between uplink and downlink frequency blocks. This is expected to add up to 20 to 34 MHz of usable bandwidth that will be allowed for wireless mic use.
There will be small blocks in the "guard band" and "duplex gap" spaces in the 600 MHz range to squeeze in RF mics. Where these are will likely vary by city, but there will be small spaces - the 600 MHz band isn't completely dead. That, and the fact that there is a 39-month grace period after the auction puts us into 2018 or 2019 - by that point, your equipment may be up for replacement/renewal anyway.
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Thanks for posting the summary, Jason.
I want everyone to realize the major efforts put forth particularly by Shure and Sennheiser, but also by Audio Technica and Lectrosonics to bring about the positive aspects of what we see here. It was nice to be a part of this coordinated industry lobbying on behalf of the users. A series of meetings in DC is what it took, along with dozens of conference calls and background work. The NAB, the DTV Audio Group, ESPN, NBC, Disney, CP Communications and others were also heavily involved.
The continued loss of spectrum will shape our industry, no doubt. But without efforts like what I've described above, things would be looking much worse.
Agreed - thanks guys. I was expecting much worse.
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Hi Karl,
Yes! Hearty thanks to you and the rest for a job well done. We should all also tip our hat to this forum's good friend, Henry Cohen. He was collecting data to support our cause for a long time and it appears that you all were able to use it very effectively to convince the commission of our industry's importance in their band planning.
Agreed - Henry's role was pivotal!
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Is there a Report and Order that actually outlines these rules and changes? I looked on thr FCC website and the closest that I found was a press release.
Also, Jason, where did you get the slides in your OP? I didnt watch the whole video so maybe I messed them?
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Agreed - thanks guys. I was expecting much worse.
Ditto. Most users will have to retune, but otherwise won't be affected that much.
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Is there a Report and Order that actually outlines these rules and changes? I looked on thr FCC website and the closest that I found was a press release.
The NPRM is not yet posted; possibly later today, almost certainly by middle of next week.
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Also, Jason, where did you get the slides in your OP? I didnt watch the whole video so maybe I messed them?
Hi Justice,
I captured them while watching live on the FCC.gov channel. I don't know if they're in the C-Span version.
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The reassigned 600MHz band will contain an undetermined number of 4MHz-wide guard bands, and an 11MHz-wide "duplex gap" guard band between uplink and downlink frequency blocks. This is expected to add up to 20 to 34 MHz of usable bandwidth that will be allowed for wireless mic use.
This is great news for the church I recently installed 4chs of Sennheiser wireless in(before I heard of the upcoming auction). I imagine that 4chs shouldn't be a problem; I'll just have to retune as necessary. Considering that the building seems like a Faraday cage to most cell phone and other signals I doubt we'll have much trouble. ;D
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If you read Jason's comments here:
There will be small blocks in the "guard band" and "duplex gap" spaces in the 600 MHz range to squeeze in RF mics. Where these are will likely vary by city, but there will be small spaces - the 600 MHz band isn't completely dead. That, and the fact that there is a 39-month grace period after the auction puts us into 2018 or 2019 - by that point, your equipment may be up for replacement/renewal anyway.
I didn't take the 39 months to be a guarantee but rather as "up to 39 months" will be available but it depends on how quickly the new licensee get on the air. It could be considerably shorter depending on where you are.
Second ... since the National Broadband Plan in place calls for clearing 120 MHz from the TV UHF band does that mean that the 20-34 MHz and another 20 MHz will be targeted in the 500 band by 2021?