ARCHIVED - Letter
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By fax: 613-998-5355
Ottawa, 9 April 2009
Mrs. Veena Rawat, Ph.D.
President
Communications Research Center (CRC)
3701, Carling Avenue
P.O. Box 11490, Stn. H
Ottawa, ON K2H 8S2
Dear Mrs Rawat:
Following Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2009-2, at the 31 March 2009 public hearing, the Commission is in the process of reconsidering various competitive FM radio applications proposing stations to serve the Ottawa-Gatineau market. On the technical side, applicants were proposing the use of three frequencies namely, the 99.7, the 101.7 and 101.9 MHz. In Decision CRTC 2008-222 (which is the decision that the Commission is reconsidering), the Commission had determined that those were the last available frequencies that could be used to serve the Ottawa-Gatineau market [1] . However, in the course of the 31 March hearing, some applicants and interveners stated that the 94.5 MHz frequency could also be used in this market. Please note that this frequency is second adjacent to Astral's CIMF-FM station operating on frequency 94.9 MHz (channel 235 C1) from Camp Fortune.
In light of this, the Commission asks the CRC to provide its expert opinion on the feasibility of using the 94.5 MHz frequency to serve the Ottawa-Gatineau market. The Commission requests the CRC to address the following:
1) potential coverage obtained using this frequency
2) transmission sites which could accommodate such a station;
3) the impact of the use of this second adjacent frequency on service contours and receivers for both the incumbents and the new station,
4) the distribution of receivers capable of receiving signals on second adjacent frequencies;
5) a list of modifications that could be made to existing radio services to enable the use of the 94.5 MHz frequency for the Ottawa-Gatineau market; and
6) a list of assumptions used in providing the answers.
Additionally, the Commission would also appreciate if the CRC could identify any additional issues associated with the use of 94.5 MHz not identified by the applicants and interveners involved in the public hearing held on 31 March 2009. Please note that the transcript of this public hearing is available at: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/transcripts/2009/index.htm#tb0331. It is to be noted that the Commission stated, at pages 440-441 (volume 3) of the transcript, that it intended to request the CRC to provide the opinion mentioned in the present letter. Also note that you can find various studies on our website which were submitted by the applicants in the course of this public hearing.
Following receipt of your opinion, the Commission will publish it on its web site so that interested parties can consult it. The Commission will continue its reconsideration of competitive FM radio applications in a public hearing to be held on 12 June 2009 in Gatineau. During this additional hearing, the Commission will specifically address the issue of the 94.5 MHz frequency. The Commission would appreciate if the comments can be sent as soon as possible, preferably no later than 5 June 2009.
Should you require any additional information or clarification in order to respond to this request, please do not hesitate to contact Martin Daigle at 819-997-8259.
Sincerely,
Original signed by
Robert A. Morin,
Secretary General
cc: Applicants to the reconsideration process
[1] The frequencies 101.7 and 101.9 MHz were considered technically mutually exclusive. The Commission did not consider that licences would granted simultaneously to different applicants for these two frequencies
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