1. Broadcasting & Radio Technology Services STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT Presentation by Bob Greeney, Consultant on behalf of COMMERCIAL RADIO AUSTRALIA

2. Broadcasting & Radio Technology Services STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT  Options offered: –Complete merge of ABA within ACA –Transfer planning, licence allocation and regulatory functions from ABA to ACA –Transfer broadcasting planning functions from ABA to ACA

3. Broadcasting & Radio Technology Services STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT  WHY CHANGE? –Maximize spectrum efficiency –Economic gain –Resource efficiency –Better outcomes (for users and for intended audience) –To make improvements

4. Broadcasting & Radio Technology Services SPECTRUM EFFICIENCY  Radiocommunications –One to one –Standard parameters for each class of service –Generally fixed reuse criteria –Maximize economic return on sale of spectrum, relatively low return on annual licence fees  Broadcasting –One to many –Tailored technical parameters for each service area –Maximised reuse based on design of services to cover licence areas –Must meet cultural, community and social objectives –High economic returns on licence fees

5. Broadcasting & Radio Technology Services SPECTRUM EFFICIENCY  Radiocommunications –Typically narrowband –Offers relatively large number of services –Becoming congested –Consider sharing channels –Cost of access so high that some licences not being taken up (e.g. 3G services)  Broadcasting –Typically wider bandwidth than radiocommunications –Very efficient reuse criteria –Interference free within licence area –Supports large number of licensees –High returns for access to new channels –New services being provided

6. Broadcasting & Radio Technology Services RESOURCE EFFICIENCY  Broadcasting Planning requires skills and knowledge not required for radiocommunications spectrum planning –understanding of characteristics of the proposed licence area (Object of BSA) –understanding of technical characteristics of broadcasting antennas –Ability to plan technical characteristics for each service to adequately cover its licence area

7. Broadcasting & Radio Technology Services RESOURCE EFFICIENCY  Transfer of broadcasting planning to the ACA would require – a transfer of these skills –Legislative amendments to give effect to the cultural, community and social objectives of providing broadcasting services under the Radiocommunications Act –Separation of the broadcasting planning functions from the broadcasting licensing and regulatory functions - may cause dysfunction in the management of broadcasting services –DOES NOT appear to IMPROVE resource efficiency

8. Broadcasting & Radio Technology Services RESOURCE EFFICIENCY  The skills required of staff planning broadcasting services are significantly different from the skills of staff planning radiocommunications services  Merging these ABA functions within the ACA would still need separate planning areas – i.e. no change, except for administrative arrangements  Why change?

9. Broadcasting & Radio Technology Services BETTER OUTCOMES  An example – OPEN NARROWCASTING  Currently, low power Open Narrowcasting services using the FM and the AM bands, are planned and licensed by the ACA  They use standard planning parameters –Fixed power, adjacent channels, omni directional transmitting antennas  These low power services are not planned IAW standard broadcasting planning rules

10. Broadcasting & Radio Technology Services BETTER OUTCOMES  AM Open Narrowcasting services are intended to operate using narrower bandwidth than broadcasting  Currently, low power Open Narrowcasting services using both the FM and AM bands, are causing concern because they cover much larger areas than intended  AM open narrowcasting services on adjacent channels interfere with each other within their coverage area (they do not have licence areas)  The use of standard planning parameters has not lead to improved spectrum efficiency or improved diversity of broadcasting/narrowcasting services  Has not resulted in BETTER OUTCOMES

11. Broadcasting & Radio Technology Services STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT  While supporting a merger of functions, it is apparent that neither the ABA nor the ACA believes that a merger would produce significant administrative savings, with economies of scale offset by cost increases elsewhere  WHY CHANGE?