Broadcasters in a number of countries in the Asia-Pacific region have reported interference to their satellite transmissions from broadband wireless services, a meeting in Washington DC has heard. Australian, New Zealand and Fiji broadcasters are among those affected, Asiavision’s Managing Editor, Alan Williams, told a meeting of the World Broadcasting Unions’ International Satellite Operations Group (WBU-ISOG).
The interference is caused by Broadband Wireless Access operators using the same C-band spectrum used by the broadcasters. AsiaSat’s General Manager of Engineering, Barry Turner, said C-band satellite transmissions in Indonesia, Iraq, Pakistan and the Philippines were also being affected. A great deal of pressure was being put on administrations to release this spectrum for broadband wireless services, he said. Exclusion zones were needed around earth stations to combat the problem.
Intelsat Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Kalpac Gude, said wireless operators such as mobile phone companies were “going after a spectrum grab because spectrum was valuable”.
He said broadcasters and satellite operators had not done an effective enough job in bringing the problem to the attention of their governments.
Intelsat is hosting the two-day meeting, which brings together broadcasters, satellite operators and service providers from around the world.
(Source: Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)