[LINK] Analogue TV frequencies not just used for TV, so spanner in works of spectrum sale

[Kim Holburn]

On 2007/Jan/21, at 11:35 PM, Stewart Fist wrote:
> Apart from the available TV and radio broadcasting channels, and a few
> narrow bands like cellphones, air traffic control and taxi  
> despatch, most of
> the rest of the spectrum lies unused for most of the time.
>
> We supposedly use the international spectrum allocation for television
> transmission, yet Australia has never used Channels 12 to 27 in the  
> UHF
> band.
>
> Yet this is the best part of the UHF band for distance broadcasting  
> (more
> important in Australia than elsewhere) -- and it exists as an enormous
> spectrum gap from 222MHz up to 526MHz.  This was the obvious region  
> to open
> up for digital TV, and this could have been done without needing to  
> destroy
> analog channels until they are totally obsolete.
>
> I've never managed to get an answer (that I trust) as to why these  
> channels
> were left vacant,  The authorities opened up the high end of the  
> UHF band
> for 'so-called business and foreign language' broadcasting at one  
> time,
> which meant that a set-top box was needed, because it was off the  
> range of
> international TV tuners.  Yet this on-tuner range from 12 to 27  
> lies vacant.
>
> Has anyone ever heard any sort of a rational explanation?

I believe the simple economic answer is that more TV stations would  
dilute the advertising dollar and the stations wouldn't be viable.   
It has always seemed to me to be a monopolist's argument (tri- 
opolists?  quintopolists?).  That's the supposed answer to why we  
only have 5 channels not why we don't use the unallocated channels  
for something else.

> I've been asking these questions at spectrum conferences for years,  
> but
> never had a convincing reply.

--
Kim Holburn
IT Network & Security Consultant
Ph: +39 06 855 4294  M: +39 3342707610
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Democracy imposed from without is the severest form of tyranny.
                           -- Lloyd Biggle, Jr. Analog, Apr 1961