OTTAWA – Industry Canada is extending by a month the comment period for its proposal on repurposing spectrum in the 600 MHz band.
According to a notice this week in the Canada Gazette, the deadline for the receipt of comments has been extended from January 26 to February 26, 2015. The deadline for reply comments will be two weeks (14 calendar days) following the publication date of the comments received, and all comments will be posted on Industry Canada’s Spectrum Management and Telecommunications website. The notice says that the extension is “based on the merits of several requests for additional time”.
As Cartt.ca reported last month, Industry Minister James Moore has proposed a plan to make the 600 MHz band of spectrum available for commercial mobile use in both urban and rural areas. Under the plan, Canada would work with the United States to relocate over-the-air television (OTA TV) broadcasting stations to free up additional spectrum for mobile services. Should Canada proceed, this joint initiative will allow existing Canadian OTA TV operators to continue broadcasting while maximizing the availability of commercial mobile spectrum.
Minister Moore added that this consultation is the first step in a multi-year process, focused on the technical aspects of the proposed repurposing of spectrum in the 600 MHz band.
