{"id":11134,"date":"2017-02-02T10:23:16","date_gmt":"2017-02-02T15:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=11134"},"modified":"2017-02-03T13:55:43","modified_gmt":"2017-02-03T18:55:43","slug":"decommissioning-transmission-towers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=11134","title":{"rendered":"Decommissioning transmission towers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is over-the-air transmission sustainable as a broadcasting medium? For TVO, the answer is no<\/a>. TVO, “the technological extension of Ontario\u2019s public education system<\/a>,” has decided to pull the plug on transmitters in Ottawa, Belleville, Chatham, Cloyne, Kitchener, London, Thunder Bay and Windsor, eliminating 7 jobs and saving $1 million annually. According to TVO, most of its viewers use broadcast distribution (such as cable, IPTV or satellite) or online services such as TVOkids<\/a>. <\/p>\n

As the 600 MHz incentive auction draws to a close in the US, we can see a tangible value, measured in the billions of dollars, for the continued repurposing of television broadcast spectrum for mobile connectivity. <\/p>\n

There are so many factors that come into play, mandatory carriage, opportunities for simultaneous substitution, access to households without BDU subscriptions, but we might also consider issues of technological neutrality in the regulatory treatment of delivery systems for linear broadcasting. On one hand, Canada continues to regulate broadcasting that does not use public spectrum (such as direct to cable specialty channels), but uses different forms of licenses and applies different terms. On-demand services are another issue, receiving different treatment based on whether the service is delivered over the internet or not.<\/p>\n

Two years ago, in an address to the London (Ontario) Chamber of Commerce<\/a>, CRTC Chair JP Blais used a metaphor of the Commission as “bridge builders.” He said<\/a> the CRTC “built a bridge to carry analog television programming”.<\/p>\n

As television started to change, as consumers began to embrace on-demand viewing, mobile platforms and online video services, it became apparent that the old bridge was ill suited to carry modern digital traffic. More than just renovations were required to ensure traffic continued to flow smoothly into your home and onto your mobile devices. We needed a new bridge.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He observed that some prefer “the old bridge. They like to consume content on traditional platforms and in the same ways and quantities that they have for years.”<\/p>\n

At the time, despite the possibility that digital transmission could lead to “renewed interest for OTA broadcasting,” he also observed “Long term, however, the format must change. The future of television lies more toward viewer-centric, on-demand models than the scheduled broadcasts such as those provided by OTA.”<\/p>\n

As I wrote on Twitter<\/a>, “From telecom policy perspective, shouldn’t we encourage more broadcasters to abandon OTA transmitters & free up 600MHz spectrum for mobile?”<\/p>\n

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From telecom policy perspective, shouldn't we encourage more broadcasters to abandon OTA transmitters & free up 600MHz spectrum for mobile?<\/p>\n

— Mark Goldberg (@Mark_Goldberg) February 2, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n