PCIA, AM Group Agree on Interference Testing Methods
Broadcasters and PCIA agree on rules they want the FCC to approve allowing use of computer interference modeling that could save both industries time and money (CD Aug 14 p2). The AM Directional Antenna Performance Verification Coalition filed a revised proposal with the FCC Sept. 7 on moment-method modeling, addressing wireless groups’ concerns. Under the revisions, wireless towers wouldn’t need to run computer tests to see if they're interfering with AM stations when making a wide array of antenna modifications. The tweaks would let operators of cellular and wireless data transmitters forgo field testing in replacing antenna gear or setting up new facilities near AM stations, said coalition head Ray Benedict.
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Wireless tower groups were “generally supportive” of the new deal in recent talks, Benedict said. “They are much more comfortable with the proposals than they were previously,” he said. “We made some significant changes.” The largest group, PCIA, backs the plan, engineer Rich Biby said. The proposal stands to affect about a quarter of 112,000 telecommunications towers owned or run by PCIA members, Biby said.
The Wireless Communications Association likes the changes but hasn’t decided whether to endorse them, said Paul Sinderbrand, a lawyer for the group. “The revised proposal certainly addresses many of the concerns we had with the original,” he said. “They didn’t go as far as we would like,” but the plan may be good enough, Sinderbrand added. “I suspect we'll be letting the commission know our views shortly.” The Land Mobile Communications Council, representing users of emergency and other radio systems, also was in on talks about the tests, Benedict said. A Council official didn’t return messages.
The old AM coalition plan envisioned operators often running the computer tests when a tower’s electrical height increased. The new version junks that provision, requiring testing only when a tower’s physical height grows. Testing would be needed if height rises 5 degrees, or between 8 and 25 feet, depending on the frequency of the AM station whose directional antenna is nearby. Another significant change would let tower operators use readily-available data to run studies, which could cost as little as $300 each, Benedict said. The AM coalition wants the FCC to revamp its website’s function for calculating interference so that visitors can enter an antenna’s geographic coordinates and learn all nearby AM frequencies. Tower companies could use the data for quick studies. “They could determine within five minutes whether a computer modeling simulation is needed,” Benedict said. He predicted many major wireless carriers will buy software so they can run the studies instead of paying engineering firms.
Moment method testing isn’t cheap, but undercuts most field studies, said Biby, a consultant who works with PCIA. Modeling studies run $1,000 to $1,500 apiece, about half what the least expensive field tests cost, he said. For “cellular and PCS guys, it will save us a lot of money, a lot of time, a lot of hassle,” Biby said. “It makes a lot of technical sense.” FCC rules don’t allow moment-method studies, and many tower operators take measurements anytime they change out gear, if only to confirm that antenna height hasn’t changed, he said. “There was a lot of unnecessary work.”
The next step is for broadcasters to meet with the FCC and commissioners’ aides to press for a decision authorizing use of computer modeling, Benedict said. The coalition will “address any of their concerns and tell them it does represent broadcast consensus,” he said. Members include Emmis, Citadel Broadcasting, Clear Channel, Cumulus, Entercom and CBS, where Benedict directs spectrum management. A commission vote is likelier than action by a bureau, given the changes involved, Benedict said. Biby couldn’t say whether PCIA will weigh in with its own eighth-floor meetings. An official at the group didn’t return messages. The key part is that broadcasters and PCIA compromised, Biby said. “It’s giving in on the points we wanted,” he said. “How could we not be happy with it?” - Jonathan Make