ARCHIVED -  Public Notice CRTC 1997-44

The Commission announces that it has received an application for a broadcasting licence to carry on a new MDS radiocommunication distribution undertaking to provide service in Montréal, Quebec and surrounding areas.

In keeping with its usual procedure in such cases, the Commission hereby calls for applications from other parties wishing to obtain such a licence to provide MDS service in Montréal, Quebec and surrounding areas.

Persons intending to submit such an application must file a letter of intent with the Secretary General of the Commission on or before 15 May 1997. Applications must be filed on or before 13 June 1997, and all the necessary technical documenta-ion must be filed with the Department of Industry by the same date.

In Decision CRTC 95-910 dated 20 December 1995 and CRTC 95-910-1 dated 11 January 1996, the Commission approved applications by Skycable Inc. for new MDS radiocommunication distribution undertakings to serve various areas in the province of Manitoba. In that decision, the Commission noted that:

Subsequently, in Public Notice CRTC 1995-183 dated 26 October 1995, the Commission announced that it would no longer routinely impose conditions of licence restricting licensees of radiocommunication distribution undertakings from soliciting or accepting subscriptions within the authorized service areas of other subscription-based distribution undertakings.

In the Commission’s view, the evolution of the Canadian broadcasting environment has been such that the role of MDS must now be seen as competitive, rather than complementary to cable...

In preparing their applications, prospective applicants for licences to provide MDS service in Montréal, Quebec and surrounding areas are referred to the detailed licensing policy respecting MDS undertakings set out in Decision CRTC 95-910 and CRTC 95-910-1.

Applicants will be required to meet the eligibility requirements set out in P.C. 1997-486 dated 8 April 1997 Direction to the CRTC (Ineligibility of Non-Canadians) and in P.C. 1985-2108 dated 27 June 1985 Direction to the CRTC (Ineligibility to hold broadcasting licences). Documentation that provides full and complete details regarding the proposed ownership and control of the undertaking will be required.

The Commission will consider an application to be incomplete unless it includes a detailed business plan, including financial projections of revenues, expenses, capital costs and a statement of changes in financial position for the pre-operating period and each of the seven (7) years of the proposed licence term. A balance sheet as at the beginning of year 1 and as at the end of year 7 along with all of the underlying assumptions used to prepare the projections must also be provided.

In addition, the application must also contain documentary evidence demonstrating that, should the application be successful, all of the proposed funding within the business plan will be unequivocally available on or before the date the Commission renders its decision on the application. For the convenience of applicants, the Commission has available upon request a document entitled "Documentation Required by the Commission to Support the Availability of an Applicant’s Proposed Financing".

The Commission will announce at a later date details of a public hearing which will be scheduled to consider applications received in response to this call.

A resume of each application will also be published in newspapers of general circulation within the area to be served.

The Commission wishes to advise potential applicants that the call does not contemplate proposals utilizing Local Multipoint Communications System (LMCS) technology operating in the 28 GHz frequency band. The Commission notes that MDS and LMCS use different frequency bands and somewhat different technologies and are therefore not technically mutually exclusive.

LMCS applications will be considered at a separate proceeding after the filing of a complete LMCS broadcasting application and the issuance of a call.

The public will be given the opportunity to comment on any application by submitting written intervention(s) to the undersigned and by serving a true copy of the intervention(s) on the applicant(s) at least twenty five (25) days before the date of the hearing.