Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2009-396

Route reference: 2009-77

Ottawa, 30 June 2009

Byrnes Communications Inc.
Woodstock, Ontario

Application 2008-1637-4, received 8 December 2008

CIHR-FM Woodstock – Technical change

The Commission approves an application by Byrnes Communications Inc. to change the authorized contours of the English-language commercial radio station CIHR-FM Woodstock by increasing the average effective radiated power from 1,929 watts to 7,096 watts.

Introduction

The Commission received an application by Byrnes Communications Inc. (Byrnes) to change the authorized contours of the radio programming undertaking CIHR-FM Woodstock by increasing the average effective radiated power from 1,929 watts to 7,096 watts.

The applicant stated that the proposed change will result in better signal quality for listeners who are experiencing poor signal reception in CIHR-FM's licensed service area, including in Woodstock, Ingersoll and Oxford County.

As part of this process, the Commission received and considered one intervention in support of this application and two interventions in opposition from Tillsonburg Broadcasting Company Limited (Tillsonburg) and Astral Media Radio G.P. (Astral). The interventions and the applicant's reply to the interventions can be found on the Commission's website at www.crtc.gc.ca under "Public Proceedings."

Interventions and reply

In their interventions, Tillsonburg and Astral both argued that the proposed technical change will allow CIHR-FM to further encompass the city of London within its contours. They further argued that the present application runs contrary to the commitment made by Byrnes to focus on providing service to Woodstock as described in its original licensing decision, Broadcasting Decision 2005-431. Astral also submitted that CIHR-FM's signal quality issues can be better addressed through alternative means. Tillsonburg expressed concern that Byrnes' technical change would directly affect its services. Both interveners contended that CIHR-FM currently has adequate signal coverage in Woodstock and Oxford County.

In its reply, Byrnes stated that it has no intention of expanding beyond its licensed service area and reaffirmed that its goal is to provide a consistent and reliable signal to the areas which it is licensed to serve. Byrnes noted in its reply that its application was accompanied by many complaint letters from listeners and that it did examine other technical solutions, but concluded that a power increase represents the most reasonable and cost-efficient solution. According to the applicant, the technical change would help solidify its current listener and revenue base within its principal marketing area by making its signal more reliable.

Commission's analysis and determinations

The Commission notes that the proposed technical amendment would improve coverage in Woodstock, Ingersoll and Oxford County by further increasing the 3 mV/m contour over the area. Further, the 0.5 mV/m contour would cover London and Tillsonburg but not Stratford. Kitchener would still not be covered by the station's 0.5 mV/m contour with this technical amendment. According to the Department of Industry's (the Department's) Broadcasting Procedures and Rules, Part 3 – Application Procedures and Rules for FM Broadcasting Undertakings, a minimum field strength of 3 mV/m is required for satisfactory service to principal centres, while a minimum field strength of 0.5 mV/m is required for satisfactory service to secondary service target centres, where reception is generally limited to outdoor receiving antennas such as car antennas. Given the above, the Commission is therefore satisfied that Byrnes' proposal is an appropriate solution to the signal reception problems experienced by its listeners in its licensed service area of Woodstock, Ingersoll and Oxford County.

Conclusion

In light of the above, the Commission approves the application by Byrnes Communications Inc. to change the authorized contours of the English-language commercial radio programming undertaking CIHR-FM Woodstock by increasing the average effective radiated power from 1,929 watts to 7,096 watts.

The Department has advised the Commission that, while this application is conditionally technically acceptable, it will only issue a broadcasting certificate when it has determined that the proposed technical parameters will not create any unacceptable interference with aeronautical NAV/COM services.

The Commission reminds the licensee that pursuant to section 22(1) of the Broadcasting Act, this authority will only be effective when the Department notifies the Commission that its technical requirements have been met and that a broadcasting certificate will be issued.

Secretary General

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: http://www.crtc.gc.ca.