 |
VHF Broadcast Re-planning
|
Executive summary
This brief study reviewed the potential
for further sound broadcasting services to be accommodated in the VHF/FM band
(Band II). Its intention was to determine the likelihood of frequencies being
available for the introduction of further services within the UK, using London
and Leeds as case studies. It is essential to note that the study did not
undertake the full frequency planning exercise that will be required to confirm
the availability or otherwise of potential new frequencies; it was however
the necessary precursor to such work.
The study considered the provision
of three categories of service for London and Leeds within the present usage
of Band II spectrum:
The report concluded that there
is scope to introduce a number of services with a radius up to 5 km with
little or no impact on existing services. However, it is unlikely that new
larger-scale services could be introduced under current planning criteria
in the areas examined, without impacting to a greater or lesser extent on
existing services, notably by way of the need for frequency changes and/or
the loss of coverage. This study sought to determine the approximate magnitude
of the penalty to be paid for the introduction of new services in each area.
LONDON
The study suggests that a single
London-wide service might be planned at a cost of either reducing the population
coverage of two existing stations in the Home Counties by 25% or by reducing
the coverage of a BBC National service by 100,000 listeners.
As another extreme, the study assumed
the need to plan for an arbitrary number of nine new London-wide service frequencies.
The implications of this would be a cost of loss of services to over 4 million
listeners in stations in and around London (including the closure of some
services altogether) and the need for frequency changes by around 28 existing
services.
To illustrate the possibilities
of planning for smaller scale services, the study considered a number of arbitrarily-chosen
new local low powered stations within London and concluded that a number of
such stations with a service radius of 3‑5 km, could be introduced
with little or no impact on existing stations.
LEEDS
It appears possible to accommodate
a new Leeds-wide service from two transmitters with a coverage of around 1.5
million listeners by moving the frequencies of three existing stations.
In addition, other moves of existing
stations in the close vicinity could deliver a further two stations covering
Bradford and one service covering Leeds. However, this leaves a trail of
knock-on effects to stations in the wider areas to all but offset the benefits.
In addition it is possible to introduce
smaller scale (3‑5 km) stations in towns in the area, particularly
those shielded in valleys, without any significant impact on existing services,
most easily using frequencies in the Classic FM and BBC National bands. To
validate this, the study examined the feasibility of introducing stations
in Leeds and Bradford. A station in Leeds, for example, could be planned
to give coverage to an audience of around 110,000 listeners.
The study also endorsed the efficiency
with which the spectrum is currently planned by the Radio Authority and the
BBC bearing in mind their differing requirements and the obligations they
face under the Broadcasting Acts and the BBC Charter.
The study also examined some other
areas to consider in order to increase the productivity of the spectrum, including
relaxing current planning criteria and standards and making different assumptions
about receiver performance etc. The study concluded that:
Map Data
Maps in this document are reproduced
from 1:250000 Scale Colour Raster (2nd June 2000) Ordnance
Survey mapping with permission from Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller
of HMSO, © Crown Copyright.
Coverage predictions in this document
are based on Land-Form PANORAMA (2nd June 2000) Ordnance Survey
mapping with permission from Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of
HMSO, © Crown Copyright.
Census Data
Population counts are derived from
1991 Usually Resident Population data at Enumeration District level using
MapInfo Enhanced Centroids with permission of MapInfo and the Office of National
Statistics, © MapInfo, © Crown Copyright.
Top
