Executive summary

In June 2009, the Ministry released a discussion paper¹ to consult with industry and other stakeholders on appropriate licensing frameworks for higher power control channels used in Television Outside Broadcast (TVOB) wireless cameras.

There is no radio spectrum band designated for TVOB wireless camera control channels at present. Control channels with low output power emissions (e.g. up to 25 mW e.i.r.p.), which operate over short distances (tens of metres), are able to share spectrum with other services because of the low risk of interference. These power limits are specified for various frequency ranges in New Zealand under General User Radio Licences (GURLs).

The discussion paper considered the situation of users wanting to deploy TVOB control channels with output powers higher than permitted under GURLs (e.g. up to 300 mW e.i.r.p.) in order to transmit over longer distances (of up to around 1 km), and which therefore must be licensed. Currently, such control channels are licensed on a short-term, temporary basis when they can be coordinated with the designated use of the relevant band.

The paper identified two candidate bands to host long-term channel plans, dedicated specifically to TVOB control channels in the UHF band, and sought feedback on these options as well as comment on any other suitable alternatives:

• Sharing with amateur radio and short range devices (SRDs) in the frequency range 434.1375 – 434.4625 MHz, and
• Sharing with short-range devices in the 821 – 822 MHz band.
   

The submissions received suggested that identifying a spectrum band to specifically host a channel plan for TVOB control channels is very difficult in the already congested UHF spectrum. Moreover, while the increasing demand for this service is acknowledged, having specific bands (including the two options identified in the discussion paper) for this service in New Zealand would also present difficulties in terms of the availability of technically suitable, reasonably-priced equipment.

In view of these issues, the Ministry proposes to continue with the status quo, namely, licensing the use of high-power control channels used in TVOB wireless cameras on a co-ordinated basis within existing band plans and in compliance with the technical requirements of the bands. The Ministry prefers the current fixed service bands (point-to-point and point-to-multipoint)² for users operating with higher power at fixed locations.
 

Footnotes

¹ http://www.rsm.govt.nz/cms/policy-and-planning/current-projects/radiocommunications/consultation-on-spectrum-options-for-control-channels-in-wireless-cameras/discussion-paper.

² PIB 22 specifies licensing requirements for fixed service bands in New Zealand; this is available at http://www.rsm.govt.nz/cms/resource-library/public-information-brochures-pibs/pib-22-fixed-service-bands-in-new-zealand/.