5. Social and Cultural Outcomes

Social and Cultural Objectives

Broadcasting

Telecommunications

Public Safety and Security

Recreational

This chapter describes and reviews spectrum policies and processes that support New Zealand's social and cultural objectives.

Social and Cultural Objectives

209. The framework of social and cultural objectives that influence radio spectrum management is contained in a range of Government policies and, in generalised terms, in various Acts relating, inter alia, to individual radiocommunications providers: for example, the Māori Television Service Act (MTS) 2003.
210. In this area, the value of spectrum is determined vis-à-vis policy criteria rather than through the operation of the spectrum market. The assumption is that, through the meeting of policy objectives, spectrum achieves its highest value to society, an assumption that is reliant on a robust and effective policy process accurately identifying and describing objectives of maximum social and cultural value.

Broadcasting

211. Government's broadcasting policy objectives are:

• ensuring all New Zealanders have reasonable and regular access to broadcasting representing the uniqueness and diversity of New Zealand life, recognising that the history and stories of whanau, hapu and iwi are integral to any description of that life;
• meeting the information and entertainment needs of as many interests as reasonably possible, including those that cannot be met by commercial broadcasting;
• contributing to public awareness of and participation in the political and social debates of the day;
• providing for minority interests and increased choice; and
• encouraging innovation and creativity in broadcasting while aiming to continually increase audience satisfaction with the quality of the content.

It is recognised that these objectives cannot be met solely through a free spectrum market, as such a market is unlikely to assign spectrum to the purposes stated. The justifiable nature and extent of Government intervention is a key policy question.

212. The primary purpose of the MTS Act is to enable the Crown to meet its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi to preserve, protect, and promote te reo Māori.
213. Many of the social and cultural outcomes sought through broadcasting fall under the first of the Key Government Goals, strengthen national identity and uphold the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. To this end both public broadcasting policy and spectrum allocation policy seek to provide for New Zealanders' entertainment, educational and information needs, to cater for cultural diversity and diversity of interest, and to promote Māori language and culture. Spectrum has a central role in the establishment and maintenance of public safety and security.
214. A variety of support mechanisms is provided by Government for non-commercial broadcasting services. These range through full funding and provision of transmission licences (Radio New Zealand), part funding and provision of licences (National Pacific Radio Trust, Māori Radio, Māori Television Service, access radio), provision of licences only (student radio), and part government funding with commercial acquisition of licences (Television New Zealand [TVNZ]). Recent proposals in MCH's Building a Strong and Sustainable Public Broadcasting Environment for New Zealand - A Programme of Action ("the Programme of Action") would modify these arrangements to provide direct funding of Radio New Zealand and to provide additional funding for TVNZ.
215. For supported services, the Government may encourage broad categories of broadcast content through such mechanisms as the Radio New Zealand and TVNZ Charters, funding contracts, or licence conditions. Government provides significant financing of broadcasting through indirect funding agencies (New Zealand on Air, Te Mangai Paho).

Reservation of Spectrum

216. In general terms, there are greater numbers of prospective broadcasters than there are available licences. This does not mean that all broadcast services would, in competition with others, be viable operations, but simply that the market entry point is the acquisition of a spectrum licence. Given this demand, it is necessary that licences for government-supported services be identified and reserved prior to any commercial assignment. Government has recognised that the nature of the commercial broadcasting market does not favour non-commercially oriented radio and television services.
217. For this reason, government has assigned licences on a non-commercial basis without charge (except for licence fees relating to transmission power) for a variety of radio and television broadcast purposes. As an example, the distribution of reserved, "public" (government supported), and commercial radio broadcasting licences is shown in the table on the following page.
218. Reserved frequencies provide for future services, and may be assigned to particular broadcasters. For unassigned frequencies, a beauty contest is used to determine the actual broadcaster. The rationale of the reservation system hinges on the future use of the licence to promote government's content objectives. To date there has been little reassessment of reserved licences, although the potential for review does exist.
219. Reserved spectrum not being utilised can be re-assigned for other use. As a general policy, a reservation could be time limited so that if it is not used within, say, three years, it is automatically released to auction. This would prevent reservations lying unused in the long term, but it could also be argued that future non-commercial use not yet identified may be jeopardised. Reservation of spectrum for telecommunications is of less significance than reservation for broadcasting. Some examples are given on Error! Reference source not found..

Issue 5.1

Is a regime of tradable (MRR) spectrum, with a reservation for such non-commercial uses as essential services or iwi broadcasting, likely to meet future social and cultural policy purposes?

2004 Assignment of Radio Licences

Breakdown of Non-Commercial Licences

220. Some overseas jurisdictions clearly separate the agencies responsible for licensing commercial and non-commercial radiocommunications. Others differentiate public from commercial broadcasting by fully funding the former. In New Zealand, all licensing and assignment of commercial spectrum is carried out by MED, but assignment of reserved public broadcasting spectrum is determined by advice from MCH and TPK. There is some disparity between the objectives of these agencies. MED's policy is to assign spectrum to its highest value use, without necessarily specifying use. MCH and TPK allocate reserved spectrum to meet defined social and cultural objectives.

Issue 5.2

Responsibility for advice on the allocation and management of spectrum for broadcasting is shared by MED, MCH and TPK. Is there scope for improving the linkages in this structure?

Second and Third Tier FM Broadcasting

221. Government policies, and broadcasting policy in particular (as is made explicit in the Programme of Action), promote cultural diversity, not only in terms of ethnicity and culture of origin but also for people sharing common interests, age groups and beliefs, at local, regional and national level. Attempts to acquire spectrum at auction by special interest groups, and by local and regional commercial interests, have been defeated in the past by the bidding power of the two dominant radio networks.29
222. The consequence is limited variety in programming and audiences addressed. This concern might be resolved by a second and third tier of independent FM stations, broadcasting respectively on medium and low power licences, and catering for the specialised interests of specific cultural, social and interest groups. This would necessitate the imposition of ownership conditions on licences and, perhaps, some limitations on content.
223. Some of this specialised demand is being met incrementally. New Zealand allows broadcasting within the FM band on a full commercial basis, under policies which allow any person to apply for a spectrum licence at any location or power. In addition, if technically compatible with existing licences, a full FM licence may be granted on a temporary pending auction basis at the maximum power at which it can be certified under the Radiocommunications Act. 30

Low Power FM

224. The outer guard bands of the overall FM broadcasting band cannot be licensed at the high powers typically used by broadcasting services, as this would cause interference to adjacent aeronautical and land mobile services. They are currently accessible to broadcasters, therefore, under Low Power FM (LPFM) GULs. GULs permit any person to broadcast in the specified frequency range as without securing an individual licence or incurring spectrum charges. Whilst the primary purpose of LPFM licensing is to protect services in adjacent frequency bands, it also facilitates a low budget entry into local broadcasting.
225. Low budget entry does not necessarily lead to growth or permanence. Most of those who enter the market at this level remain there, if they survive at all. The odds are against any low power broadcaster, however willing, acquiring a commercial spectrum licence in competitive bidding against the major networks. The result is that there is congestion of the LPFM frequencies in some major centres. User groups have been formed in a number of areas to coordinate the use of LPFM spectrum.
226. It is uncertain how many additional FM licences would be available for assignment if a LPFM licensing regime offering less protection from interference and a lower guarantee of tenure were introduced. Also uncertain are the implications such licences would have for the overall management of the FM broadcasting band.

Medium Power FM

227. Medium power FM broadcasting can operate within the existing FM band, but is somewhat different to LPFM use of the guard bands.

• In-band medium power FM must be engineered so as not to cause interference to high-power services, so individual licences are required.
• Because in-band medium power FM licences are engineered, the maximum output power of each transmitter can be several magnitudes higher than LPFM in the guard band (e.g. up to 100 W compared with 0.5 W).

228. Of 47 temporary pending auction FM licences included in auction 6, 36% were for 100W of broadcast power or below, while 11% were 10W or below. Generally speaking, smaller commercial and semi-commercial broadcasters are the main applicants for lower power licences but, at least in the most recent auction, these temporary rightholders are subsequently outbid by the larger commercial entities.
229. Some countries, including Australia (10 W maximum), USA (100 W) and the United Kingdom (25 W) have recently introduced medium power FM licensing regimes, which issue individual licences with limited protection from interference, or none. The management regime and maximum power output for medium and low power FM licences vary from country to country, but all impose eligibility requirements which at the least exclude full commercial broadcasters seeking a broad audience.

Issue 5.3

How would a new tier or tiers of FM broadcasting spectrum licences meet community and regional needs? What implications, if any, would such licences have for overall management of the FM broadcasting band?

Issue 5.4

Should lower power FM licences established through temporary pending auction policies be assigned through an open auction, or should conditions apply on who is eligible to hold such licences?

Telecommunications

230. Most spectrum used for telecommunications is assigned to commercial services, but the Government has identified some areas where some form of intervention is necessary in the public interest. These include Project PROBE and the Māori Spectrum Trust. Project PROBE, managed by the Ministry of Education, is designed to provide broadband access for schools, rural populations and community groups, who would otherwise be unlikely to obtain affordable access through commercial provision. To assist with the programme's implementation, the Government is to release reserved spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band for Fixed Wireless Access use, with priority given to Project PROBE telecommunications suppliers.
231. The Māori Spectrum (Te Huarahi Tika) Trust, an independent charitable trust broadly representative of Māori, was provided with establishment funds and an option to purchase 3G telecommunications spectrum to support its purpose of increasing Māori participation in the information and telecommunication sector in New Zealand. The Trust's intention was to develop a third cellular telephony network, in which it was assisted by the passing of the Telecommunications Act in 2001. To this end it formed a commercial relationship with Econet (NZ) Ltd. To date, the Trust's option to purchase spectrum has not been exercised.
232. Some public park spectrum is used for telecommunications: for example, fixed wireless access links used by local territorial authorities for broadband communications.

Public Safety and Security

NZ Defence Force

233. In military applications, adequate bandwidth is critical. A naval vessel or heavy military vehicle may have several wide-band radars, weapons-guidance arrays and voice/data channels operating in close proximity, each needing interference-free spectrum. Tactical communications rely for security on frequency-hopping devices which require substantial bandwidth to operate at peak efficiency. At any given moment, there is much apparently "idle" spectrum within the defence allocation, but the nature of modern military electronic systems creates a potential for it to be employed without notice at any time.
234. The bandwidth currently allocated is reported by NZDF Headquarters to be adequate for today's purposes, although there are some restrictions on mobile communications. There is, however, an increasing reliance among defence forces world-wide on digital broadband radiocommunications: e.g. in short-range weapons-guidance systems and mobile communications at combat level. The down-sizing of our military forces has offset this rising demand somewhat, as have improved data compression techniques, but it is highly unlikely that this will reduce the demand for spectrum in the long term. Overseas experience suggests that downsized forces tend to use more spectrum, to support compensatory increases in automated surveillance and targeting equipment. There is also the likelihood that demand may increase as increasingly sophisticated electronic equipment is developed and deployed.
235. NZDF reserves bandwidth to support large-scale exercises and for deployment in the event of hostilities. This can be supplemented, under emergency conditions, with commercially-managed spectrum in adjacent bands. Consequently, the defence band could be considered as optimally utilised, with the acknowledgement that criteria for military efficiency do not coincide with those for commercial spectrum allocation. In some overseas jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom (see United Kingdom section), the military is being encouraged, through reviews and administrative pricing, to return unused spectrum to public use.
236. There may be merit in assigning the NZDF full management rights for the 230-400 MHz spectrum, with consequent management responsibility for assigning licences within the band. Advantages of implementing this proposal are seen to be:

• guaranteed NZDF tenure;
• augmented levels of security;
• for NZDF, an enhanced capacity to rationalise and improve use of its spectrum, including sharing with non-military users;
• a resolution of current difficulties for MED in the licensing of military devices that operate across a multiplicity of frequencies in a variety of modes, and do not fit the criteria for commercial apparatus; and
• a saving in administration costs to MED.

237. Perceived disadvantages are:

• the administrative costs of transferring the management rights from Crown to NZDF ownership; and
• an increase in administrative costs to NZDF.

238. Any such proposal needs to be seen in the wider context of developing policies for spectrum management by public safety and security services that will, under the SMART 31 system, give them effective control of their assigned spectrum. There may be little advantage, therefore, for NZDF or any other PSS service to acquire management rights.

Non-Military Public Safety and Security Services

239. The fragmentation of PSS radiocommunications systems referred to in Chapter 3 hinders efficient co-ordination of the various services in the event of a major incident or emergency. The issue is not of efficient spectrum use but of effective linkages between PSS services, whose integration at major incidents and during large-scale civil emergencies would be greatly facilitated by the use of compatible equipment on common frequencies. This may be an issue for Government to address proactively, through more effective high-level facilitation and/or assignment of additional resources. It is not, however, MED's direct responsibility.
240. The Emergency Services spectrum bands are co-ordinated and managed by the Public Safety Radio Frequency Management Group (PSRFMG). Members of the Group include NZDF, NZ Police, NZ Customs Service, Civil Defence, Department of Conservation, and NZ Fire Service. PSRFMG was established to promote a migration of PSS radio communications to four Emergency Services (ES) lower UHF bands.
241. Not all services have migrated or will migrate to these frequencies. The NZ Coastguard, for example, communicates on the maritime bands, and many routine communications are most cost-effectively and conveniently carried by commercial cellular and land mobile services. Other emergency services operate on HF bands in remote areas, as VHF and UHF do not achieve sufficient penetration of foliage and rugged terrain.
242. PSS use today is largely analogue and unencrypted. This is likely to change within the next few years as increased concerns over public security impel the PSS services to adopt encrypted broadband mobile applications. The Police, for example, have requested further spectrum at UHF to accommodate a replacement digital land mobile network.
243. The Public Safety Radio Network (PSRN) concept being championed by the Police offers three major benefits for PSS services and, indirectly, for spectrum users in general. These are more efficient use of spectrum, more efficient use of capital equipment and high-capacity data transfer. If the project is to proceed, issues of agency co-ordination and funding will require resolution.
244. The primary objective of the project is to establish broadband PSS communications capacity in the UHF band, on a platform of common transmission sites and relays (some VHF or even HF may be retained for penetration of remote areas). This would facilitate relinquishment of some current ES bands, which could be transferred to commercial use. Extensive re-equipping will be necessary to achieve this. The capital cost would, it is argued, be offset by efficiency gains and lower long-term network maintenance costs. There is an underlying spectrum assignment issue, in that these bands are heavily congested, with a large number of small-scale operators who would be difficult to move to a more rational band plan.
245. PSRN will make possible high-speed mobile data links, similar to those being developed for the USA's APCO 32 25 initiative. At the outset, it is expected that these links will be used for secure voice and low-speed text transmissions only: the police are currently testing related digital communications equipment in the lower UHF band. In the long term, PSRN is planned to add broadband capability, for the transmission of high-speed data and real-time video.
246. The absence of an overall strategy, common commitment and contributory funding among the PSS services has so far delayed the implementation of PSRN. Consequently, the Police, who need secure communications urgently, 33 intend to develop, in collaboration with the NZ Fire Service, an internally-funded APCO-based PSS microwave network linking 380 permanent sites. Should other PSS services wish to participate, it is planned that adequate bandwidth will be available to them at a reasonable entry cost. However, it is likely to be many years before New Zealand can deploy a fully integrated PSS command and communications system on the scale proposed in, for example, America's Project MESA. 34
247. Some overseas PSS services are working towards better integration of communications through the adoption of common technical standards, notably the European Union (TETRA) 35 and the USA (APCO). Interoperability can be a major concern in disaster zones (e.g. Turkish earthquake, US forest fires) and in international search and rescue operations.
248. TETRA is an encrypted telecommunication system. It can be particularly useful for joint emergency operations, enabling police, ambulance drivers, firefighters, doctors and military personnel to communicate directly and securely with each other. Some doubt has been expressed in the UK as to the adequacy of the bandwidth allotted to TETRA, which operates on 25 kHz channels. TETRA was considered by the NZ Police and spectrum was assigned to it, but the technology proved to be insufficiently mature for useful development.
249. APCO has developed a similar system for the USA, whose thousands of national, state and local public safety services operate a wide variety of often incompatible communications networks. The APCO 25 project establishes common standards for two-way digital communications, with such features as mobile communications-and-command centres, automatic mobile/vehicle location and high-speed data transfer. In the long term this concept may well merit further evaluation.

Recreational

250. A small proportion of radio spectrum is available, generally under ITU guidelines, for personal and recreational uses. Examples are amateur radio, personal radio services (e.g. CB and PRS radio), wireless controlled models, personal GPS devices, short-range locking and alarm devices, mountain radio and locator beacons. Many of these have a safety function in addition to their practical use. Short-range device issues are examined in the following chapter (Chapter 6).

Issue 5.5

How may spectrum best be allocated for public safety and security services?

28 Shared with Radio Rhema

29 As, for example, in Auction 6, when exceptionally high prices were paid for spectrum in key market areas.

30 Such temporary licence assignments occasionally give rise to unreasonable expectations of continuity.

31 See paragraph 54.

32 Association of Public-safety Communications Officials.

33 At present, Police mobile communications can easily be, and frequently are, monitored with inexpensive scanner-receivers.

34 Project MESA website [external link] ("MESA" for the city of Mesa, Arizona).

35 TErrestrial Trunk RAdio.