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ARCHIVED - Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2007-241

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Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2007-241

  Ottawa, 20 July 2007
  Blackburn Radio Inc.
Sarnia, Ontario
  Application 2007-0473-5, received 29 March 2007
Public Hearing in the National Capital Region
28 May 2007
 

CHOK Sarnia - Licence amendment

  The Commission approves in part the application by Blackburn Radio Inc. (Blackburn) to amend the broadcasting licence of the radio programming undertaking CHOK Sarnia, in order to operate an FM transmitter in Sarnia. Blackburn must submit for the Commission's approval, within three months of the date of this decision, an application proposing alternative technical parameters acceptable to the Commission and the Department of Industry.
 

The application

1. The Commission received an application by Blackburn Radio Inc. (Blackburn) to amend the broadcasting licence for the radio programming undertaking CHOK Sarnia, in order to operate an FM transmitter in Sarnia. The new FM transmitter would operate at 100.9 MHz (channel 265A) with an average effective radiated power of 615 watts.1
2. The licensee stated that the proposed addition of an FM transmitter would allow CHOK to adequately serve the population of Sarnia by improving the quality of the station's signal, which has been steadily degrading over time due to urban and industrial build-up, to metal structures associated with the operation of the region's petrochemical plants, and to interference from hydro lines.
3. The Commission received an intervention in support of this application, as well as several interventions providing general comments. The applicant did not reply to the interventions. The interventions are available on the Commission's Web site at www.crtc.gc.ca under "Public Proceedings."
 

Commission's analysis and determination

4. The Commission notes the signal reception problems experienced by CHOK and agrees with the applicant's assessment of the situation. The Commission further notes that the use of an FM transmitter to rebroadcast the signal of CHOK, as proposed by Blackburn, would be the most financially feasible option to allow the station to deliver a good quality signal to Sarnia, while still maintaining good coverage outside of Sarnia with the AM transmitter.
5. However, given that FM frequencies are public property and a scarce resource, the Commission must ensure, in the public interest, that any application for a frequency represents the best use of the proposed frequency, with consideration given to assigning a channel that would be commensurate with the nature of the proposed service. This is particularly critical in Southern Ontario where spectrum is scarce.
6. The Commission finds that Blackburn's proposal to use a Class A channel to add a transmitter to broadcast the programming of CHOK would not utilize the full potential of a Class A channel. Therefore, the Commission concludes that assigning the proposed Class A channel to Blackburn for the addition of an FM transmitter would not represent the best use of the frequency. The Commission notes that there are other possible technical solutions available to the applicant and that these solutions merit further consideration.
7. Accordingly, the Commission approves in part the application by Blackburn Radio Inc. to add an FM transmitter in Sarnia, in order to broadcast the programming of CHOK Sarnia. Blackburn must submit, within three months of the date of this decision, a further application proposing alternative technical parameters that are acceptable to both the Commission and the Department of Industry.
  Secretary General
 

Related documents

 
  • Broadcasting Notice of Public Hearing CRTC 2007-4-2, 25 April 2007
 
  • Broadcasting Notice of Public Hearing CRTC 2007-4, 29 March 2007
  This decision is to be appended to the licence. It is available in alternative format upon request and may also be examined in PDF format or in HTML at the following Internet site: www.crtc.gc.ca
  Footnote

[1] The technical parameters for the proposed transmitter were amended in Broadcasting Notice of Public Hearing CRTC 2007-4-2.

Date Modified: 2007-07-20

Date modified: