TORONTO – With the likes of the FCC, OFCOM and other regulators pushing the potential C-Band broadcast spectrum (3.7 to 4.2 MHz) reassignment for 5G wireless services, the World Broadcasting Unions (WBU) said Friday it is concerned about the potential impact of that on hundreds of millions of TV viewers around the world.
“With insufficient C-Band spectrum remaining available for broadcasters’ use, existing distribution and collections systems may be compromised, especially in countries with equatorial geography and high rainfall,” explains a WBU press release. “Additionally, reallocating C-Band frequencies to other services may, over time, increase pressure on the remaining uplink band further limiting its use and compromising existing C-Band users and service reliability, increasing costs to the broadcast community.”
“The WBU contends that any consideration of reallocating C-Band spectrum is a serious issue with technical, economic and service implications,” said Michael McEwen, head of the WBU Secretariat in the release. “Detailed impact studies involving all stakeholders need to be undertaken to fully understand the consequences before such a reallocation takes place.”
To read the full position paper, visit www.worldbroadcastingunions.org.
The WBU was established in 1992 as the coordinating body for broadcasting unions who represent broadcaster networks across the globe. The North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) acts as secretariat for the WBU. The broadcasting unions who belong to the WBU are the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU), the African Union of Broadcasting (AUB), the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the International Association of Broadcasting (IAB/AIR) and NABA.
