NAB reports (Jan-Dec 1948)

ITH the growth of broadcasting, and in order to permit maximum use of the radio spectrum, it became evident in the early 1930’s that an understanding as to allocation of channels between the various North American countries was necessary. The earliest of these understand¬ ings toward such cooperative use was a bilateral agreement between the United States and Canada which became effec¬ tive in 1932. To further these objectives the First North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) Conference was held in Havana in 1937. After ratification by Canada, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mexico, Newfound¬ land and the United States, the Agreement went into effect in 1941. Under the basic international provisions (Cairo 193S), the broadcast band was widened at the Havana Conference from 550-1500 kc. to include the frequencies 1500-1600 kc. At the time the Agreement became effective in 1941, 777 U. S. radio stations out of 862 shifted frequencies from 10 to 40 kc. Since that time various bilateral agreements have been reached and, with the expiration of the 1937 Agreement, an Interim Agreement was reached by the Second NARBA in Washington, D. C., in Febniary 1946 which extended “in the jurisdiction of each country the application of the pro¬ visions of the NARBA (with certain exceptions) for a period of three years.” The Interim Agreement established a North American Regional Broadcast Engineering Committee (NARBEC) for the purjrose of determining facts and making recommenda¬ tions thereon which w'ould enable governments to comply with the technical provisions of the Agreement to their mutual satisfaction. All signatory nations, with the ex¬ ception of Mexico, agreed to participate in the Engineering Committee. The Interim Agreement also called for the convocation of the participating nations (to be held August 2, 194S) in Canada for the purpose of drawing up a new Treaty. The Interim Agreement provided for the filing, through the Office of InterAmerican Radio (OIR) in Havana, of the various countries’ proposals for modification of the Treaty, and, additionally, Article XIII of the Interim Agree¬ ment (modus vivendi) stated that there shall be a Con¬ ference of Engineers prior to the Treaty Conference who “shall examine the technical aspects of the documents com¬ municated by the interested Governments. A joint report of their findings, views and recommendations shall be cir¬ culated to the Governments ...” Proposals The release of the various countries’ proposals on October 3, 1947, less than one month before the scheduled meeting of the Engineers on November 1 in Havana (1947 NAB Reports, page 815) brought forth strong industry reaction as to the effect such proposals might have upon the United States allocations structure. Mexico’s proposal, which suggested a complete revision and reallocation of the entire broadcast spectrum, and pro¬ posed the establishment of a minimum power on clear channels of 100 kilowatts, was considered most extreme. Mexico’s proposed allocation would have shifted stations from 17 to 60 channels, whereas the previous NARBA re¬ allocation maximum shift was 4 channels at a time when very few directional antennas were in use. Seventeen re¬ gional channels would be shifted under the Mexican proposal from low to high frequencies, and 3 regional channels from high frequencies to low. Two hundred forty-three full-time stations, 48 daytime stations, and approximately 900 locals would likewise have had their channels shifted. Approxi¬ mately 300 directionals would have to be changed. Mexico proposed to exchange 1220 and 1570 kc. assigned to them as class I-A, for 630 and 980 kc. (presently regionals) and, additionally, requested that existing regional channels 590 and 950 kc. be cleared of stations and assigned to Mexico for I-A use. Mexico also requested that 540 kc. be made a clear channel. Mexico additionally proposed many other classification changes, protection for their stations inside the United States, and other modifications. Newfoundland’s proposal contained a request for 3 addi¬ tional Class HI-A stations on 790, 830 and 980 kc. Haiti requested two additional high power Class II sta¬ tions on 1080 and 1130 kc. with 25 kilowatts. The Dominican Republic requested Class H stations on 650 kc., 945 kc. and 1170 kc. The Bahamas wished 1540 kc. kept clear for 50 kilowatts. Cuba requested and advocated the “necessity of a com¬ plete revision of the Treaty.” Canada requested that the channel 540 kc., authorized by the International Telecommunications Conferences in At¬ lantic City, on which she has operated a 50 KW station for many years, be made a Canadian Class I-A channel. Canada additionally proposed to add a new class of station to be known as Class V which would operate with 50 watts of power on clear channels assigned to the country in which the clear channel was allocated. These Class V stations would be intended to supplement the service of a dominant station or network in areas not otherwise serv'ed. The United States proposals mainly advocated the adop¬ tion of new technical standards in keeping with the in¬ creased technical advancements of the art, and additionally proposed the inclusion of the frequency 540 kc. into the spectrum without specifying power or class. Previous to the Engineers meeting in Havana, a meeting between Government and Industry was held in Washington on October 17 to establish the modus operand! and official delegation policy. A Government-Industry Committee of Engineers was ap¬ pointed to segregate the United States proposals into three parts: (1) purely engineering; (2) policy; and (3) mixed policy-engineering. This Committee, on completing its work, ])resented its results to the full joint GovernmentIndustry meeting at the State Department in Washington on October 25th. After minor modifications of the Committee’s work, the U. S. delegation was instructed “to write recommendations only upon those items of a purely technical nature and to [2]