§ Mr. Kilfedderasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will grant an amnesty to users of open channel radio on 27 Mhz, in view of the pending decision by Her Majesty's Government on its use following the publication of the Green Paper.
§ Mr. RaisonNo.
§ Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many copies of "Open Channel: A Discussion Document" have been distributed; and whether he will make the booklet available at major post offices rather than by application to the Radio Regulatory Department;
(2) how many objections he has received to his proposals to allocate the 900 Mhz wave-band to the open broadcasting channel;
(3) what reaction he has had (a) from the radio industry and (b) from the general public in regard to his discussion document on open channel radio.
§ Mr. Raison46,000 copies of the discussion document on open channel radio, which was available free on application to the supply and transport branch of the Home Office, have been distributed. Since the closing date for comments has now passed there would be no merit in 151W establishing an alternative method of distribution. We have so far received representations from about 9,000 individuals or organisations (including separate signatories on petitions) in response to the document. Most of the responses from the radio industry have been received only in the last few days and we have therefore not yet had the opportunity to complete our analysis of them. However, the majority of the representations so far analysed are in favour of a frequency other than one in the 900 MHz band.
§ Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average expected operating range in urban areas of signals (a) at high frequency 3–30 MHz, (b) very high frequency 31–300 MHz and (c) ultra high frequency 301–3000 MHz; and what are the reasons for recommending 900 MHz for open channel transmissions.
§ Mr. RaisonThe effective operating range of equipment depends not only on topography but on the radiated power of the signal, the height of the aerial, the radio noise environment and on whether messages are passed from mobile to mobile or from fixed stations. Various estimates of the possible range of open channel equipment operating in different bands are given in the annex to the discussion document we have published on open channel radio. That analysis does not deal with the 3–30 MHz band, but in practice this band would give in urban areas similar ranges to those quoted for the 900 MHz band in the discussion document.
In proposing the introduction of open channel on a frequency above 928 MHz, we took the view that this would give an adequate service to the user, would minimise the risk of interference to other services such as television reception and uniquely offer the benefit of future international standardisation.