| Broadcast Relocation > Project Updates
| 03-24-08 |
Joint Letter of NAB, MSTV and Sprint Nextel concerning BAS Relocation Deadlines
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| Click here to download the PDF. |
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| 08-01-07 |
Announcing Program to Reimburse Low Power Stations, Television Translators, and 720 Operators
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Sprint Nextel Corporation and MSTV have announced a new program that reimburses broadcasters for reasonable expenses associated with the relocation of eligible secondary broadcast auxiliary service facilities; including low power television stations, television translators, and stations operating under the so-called 720-hour rule of section 74.24 of the FCC’s rules, provided that the secondary licensees establish their eligibility and comply with a series of milestones. The starting date for the secondary milestone timelines is August 1, 2007.
Click here for instructions for low power television stations and television translators.
Click here for instructions for stations operating under the 720-hour rule.
Click here for the press release. |
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| 07-26-07 |
BAS Property Exchange Mandated by the Federal Communications Commission Ruled an Involuntary Conversion
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| In a response to Private Letter Ruling 124954-06, the Internal Revenue Service ruled that the exchange of current BAS equipment for newly installed and tested equipment is an involuntary conversion of property. Click here for details. |
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| 02-28-07 |
Sprint Nextel Provided Training
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Sprint Nextel has hired Azcar Technologies (www.azcar.com) to continue the operator training program for all eligible licensees for the 2GHz Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS) relocation project. The training will be based on a live, “distance-learning” model:
• There will be a live instructor at a central location delivering the training.
• Training will be delivered to each station live, via Ku-band satellite.
• A return audio (and video) channel will be available to transmit questions from the class participants back to the trainer via the Internet.
• Azcar will make use of pre-produced segments for some equipment demonstrations.
• Stations will be asked by Azcar who their radio and control system manufacturers are so that the station training can be geared as best as possible toward the equipment that the station is actually purchasing.
• The object of the training is to teach ENG operators the fundamentals of the difference between operating analog ENG equipment and operating Digital ENG equipment.
Training Time Frame: Azcar will begin calling broadcasters to schedule training once broadcasters have submitted Purchase Orders to their manufacturers. Training needs to be completed in the 10-week equipment delivery period so that all training is complete before the equipment arrives.
Training Date: Training dates will be coordinated with broadcasters by an Azcar scheduling team.
• Azcar will offer a number of daily training slots to accommodate stations in all time zones, and to accommodate as many shifts of employees as possible.
• At this writing, there will be 5 training slots available Monday through Friday and at least 3 slots available on Saturdays.
• Since this is not hands-on training, stations can choose to make class sizes larger to fit in as many operators as they want to.
• Number of sessions that a station is allotted will be determined by Sprint and Azcar and will be based on station size.
• Since this is not an in-person visit, training sessions do not need to be scheduled contiguously – training can span several days or a week if necessary.
• It is the responsibility of the station, once contacted by the Azcar training team to schedule training for their own personnel (including any helicopter operators or stringers that do work for the station) in a timely manner.
Duration: Each training session will last 2 hours.
Opting Out: Stations may opt out of training by indicating so in writing to their Sprint Nextel regional representative. Sprint Nextel will not fund alternative training.
Training Cost
The training will be free of charge to eligible 2GHz BAS licensees who are receiving new or upgraded Digital Electronic News Gathering (D-ENG) equipment under BAS Relocation.
Course Description
This course is designed for operations personnel who routinely use Electronic News Gathering (ENG) systems. The purpose is to give ENG operators confidence in their ability to adapt quickly to the new D-ENG technology. The course reinforces what trained operators already know, and constructs new knowledge of D-ENG systems by lecture and demonstration with actual D-ENG equipment. The instructor will demonstrate live with an equipment system which consists of dual-mode (digital/analog) ENG transmitters and receivers from leading manufacturers, along with associated directional antennas, control systems, program sources, and monitoring equipment.
Lab exercises are workflow-oriented and will cover establishing a shot, monitoring for quality control, troubleshooting faulty paths, and the use of spectrum monitors.
Sessions for engineering personnel, formerly called “Market Seminars” will be discontinued, based on feedback from stations that have previously been trained.
Other Materials
Attendees will be provided spiral-bound written materials which includes a course manual and a DVD that will be shipped to each station in advance of their training session(s).
Technical Criteria
Broadcasters will need access to a satellite dish and receiver available to downlink an industry standard KU-Band digital feed. Accommodations can be made for broadcasters that have limited KU band equipment or LTTS operators who want training but don't have their own TVRO.
The Sprint Nextel 2 GHz Training Program feed is carried on Galaxy 25, formerly called IA-5 (Telstar 5) using the Ku band. The satellite is located at 97 degrees west longitude. The Carrier ID is 1736729.
The receive parameters for the program on Galaxy 25 is as follows:
1. The downlink frequency the receiver should be set to is 11778.7 MHz.
2. The polarity of the receive signal is Horizontal.
3. The symbol rate should be set to 3.978723.
4. The FEC (Forward Error Correction) rate is 3/4.
5. The data rate is 5.5MBps. If the receiver does not detect the data rate automatically you will need to set the data rate.
6. The Carrier ID available to those receivers capable of detecting it is 1736729. |
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| 01-12-07 |
100% Inventories Submitted in Northeast
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| The 2 GHz Relocation team’s Northeast stations have 100% of their station inventories submitted to the Sprint Nextel on-line tool. Congratulations to the 2 GHz Northeast team and Northeast broadcasters for completing this important step in the project. |
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| 11-15-06 |
100% Inventories Submitted in Mid-Atlantic
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| The 2 GHz Relocation team’s Mid-Atlantic stations have 100% of their station inventories submitted to the Sprint Nextel on-line tool. Congratulations to the 2 GHz Mid-Atlantic team and Mid-Atlantic broadcasters for completing this important step in the project. |
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| 10-09-06 |
100% Inventories Submitted in West
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| The 2 GHz Relocation team’s West stations have 100% of their station inventories submitted to the Sprint Nextel on-line tool. Congratulations to the 2 GHz West team and West broadcasters for completing this important step in the project. |
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| 09-28-06 |
Market Kickoffs Complete
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| The last 2GHz market kickoff was held in Duluth, MN. The first phase of the project is now complete and all 2GHz markets are engaged in relocation. |
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| 06-13-06 |
Changes in Upgrade Program for Certain MRC Product Lines
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Sprint Nextel has changed some upgrade requirements for certain MRC product lines.
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Coderunner 2 and Coderunner 4:
Recently, Sprint Nextel made the decision to discontinue the upgrade program for MRC Broadcast Coderunner 2 transmitters and Coderunner 4 receivers.
If a Broadcaster currently has eligible MRC equipment as described above, they now need to choose new replacement equipment, either with MRC or another manufacturer of their choice. MRC will not be upgrading the existing CodeRunner equipment within the 2GHz relocation program going forward.
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Strata:
Upgrades on existing Strata products will continue, but there are choices:
1) Choose the upgrade program from MRC
2) Choose to obtain a new portable product from MRC (note: if this option is higher in value than the upgrade option, the station will pay the delta in cost as an “upsell”).
3) Choose to obtain a new portable product from another manufacturer (note: if this option is higher in value than the upgrade option, the station will pay the delta in cost as an “upsell”).
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Any Broadcaster that has already obtained manufacturer quotes for Sprint Nextel will need to advise MRC that they need to have their quotes re-done, omitting the Coderunner upgrade, optionally modifying the Strata upgrade, and if chosen, adding the new MRC equipment. Should replacement equipment be desired from a different manufacturer, that manufacturer should be contacted, sent a copy of the station’s scrubbed inventory and a quotation should be requested.
Broadcasters that already have signed FRAs with Sprint Nextel have two options:
1) Continue forward with the upgrade path for Coderunners and Stratas. MRC will honor the few that are currently in the system if the Broadcaster wants that option
2) Contact the regional Sprint Nextel SRM and ask that the deal be opened to allow new equipment to be chosen
Antenna and control system upgrades are still in effect.
This change in approach is not a result of concerns regarding MRC’s performance or equipment, but rather an attempt to simplify logistics and permit faster progress toward completing the 2 GHz relocation on time in accordance with the FCC guidelines.
Please contact your regional Sprint Nextel team for procedural questions, and reach out to your regional Sprint Nextel Broadcast Engineer with any specific technical inquiries. |
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| 04-27-06 |
Members of Sprint Nextel's 2 GHz Relocation Project Team attended the 2006 NAB Broadcast Engineering Conference in Las Vegas from April 22 - April 27.
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At NAB 2006, Sprint Nextel was on the convention floor and at the Sprint Central facility at the monorail station to assist broadcasters in making this relocation as smooth as possible. Broadcasters had the chance to learn more about the 2 GHz Relocation by visiting our booth or by attending our information sessions at Sprint Central.
Click here for materials from Sprint Nextel's session entitled:
"What is Sprint Nextel's plan for Relocation Weekends?"
Click here for materials from Sprint Nextel's session entitled:
"Real Life - How does the equipment work in the field?"
Click here for materials from Sprint Nextel's session entitled:
"How do I compile quotes, including soft costs?"
Click here for the status of the 2 GHz Relocation Project as of April 21, 2006 as presented at NAB |
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| 01-03-06 |
500th Inventory Submission
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| Congratulations to Bud Cantrell from KDTN in Denton, Texas, who submitted the 500th inventory to Sprint Nextel on December 12, 2005. We're proud of this milestone and appreciate all of the inventories that helped Sprint Nextel achieve this benchmark. |
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| 12-08-05 |
Broadcaster Instruction Guide Return Link Clarification
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For Broadcasters in markets that have kicked off 2 GHz relocation and have received the Broadcaster Instruction Guide, the following language provides clarification about the return link information on page 8 of the September 2005 version:
Audio modulators or demodulators may be provided to convert audio/video to baseband in those instances where a station's existing non-2 GHz analog return link is baseband AND only discrete audio and video are available out of a digital ENG receiver. Note that these items are also carried by microwave equipment manufacturers and would also be included in the direct Sprint Nextel payment, if purchased from these manufacturers. |
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| 08-04-05 |
FCC Announces Licensing Procedures To Facilitate The Efficient Transition of BAS, LTTS, and CARS Licensees
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| The FCC has announced licensing procedures, which are in effect during the transition of licensees from the existing 1990-2110 MHz band to the newly mandated 2025-2110 MHz band, for Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS), Local Television Transmission Service (LTTS), and Cable Television Relay Service (CARS) operators. Click here to download the FCC's Public Notice and read the details. |
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| 05-20-05 |
Technology Update Meeting
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| Nextel will be hosting the first in a series of Technology Updates sponsored by the broadcast industry on Wednesday June 1st, 2005 (Reston, Virginia) in support of the ongoing 2 GHz relocation. The 2 GHz Technology Updates will provide a regularly scheduled forum to discuss technical and process issues affecting the 2 GHz relocation. The meetings are targeted for broadcast group engineering representatives, industry trade associations, and interested manufacturers of microwave transmitter, antenna, and control system equipment. The agenda and logistics can be downloaded at the Technology Updates section of this web site. All presentations and minutes will also be posted following each meeting Seating is limited, so persons wishing to attend the June 1st Update should contact karol.keenan@nextel.com by Friday May 27th. |
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| 05-09-05 |
Broadcasters Not Required To Climb For Inventory Phase
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As part of the self-inventory phase, broadcasters are not required to perform tower climbing to ascertain detailed information about equipment located there.
Broadcasters, however, are required to list any and all known information about their 2 GHz equipment located on towers (e.g., make, model, serial number, date of manufacture, etc.). If the detailed information is not available, a broadcaster can submit "unknown" or "don't know" to these questions in the Inventory Tool. These responses are options within the drop-down menus and are acceptable as valid answers.
As part of the inventory confirmation stage, the Nextel-appointed verification vendor for each broadcaster's market will perform a tower climb, if possible, to verify the 2 GHz equipment and will capture the detailed question requirements.
To provide comparable facilities, Nextel needs the most detailed information possible from each station. Thus, broadcasters are encouraged to supply as much data as possible when submitting their inventory. |
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| 03-14-05 |
Market Kickoffs
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| In early April Nextel will kick off the first relocation markets in Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, New York City, Phoenix, Tampa and Washington, D.C. Check each market in the Plan and Schedule section for details. |
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Markets Cut Over
