Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

GOVERNMENT continued The gait for '58 Along about this time every year, business predictions for the next 12 months crackle on the air waves. We hear of slumps — of a new boom — and we are told of a "sideways" course which we guess means not much change. Take your choice. Our choice is that competent broadcasters are going into the New Year with favorable earnings prospects. There will be more competition for the advertiser's dollar, so some stations will have to run faster to stand still. We don't subscribe to the talk that all TV and radio property values are going to tumble. Asking prices will be under closer scrutiny, but a solid station with a good record will always be worth its hire. Most of us had a good year in 1957, and 1958 will be just what 172,000,000 Americans, acting calmly and confidently, want to make it. We intend to do our part by resolving honest broadcast worth for all concerned when buyers and sellers meet. ALLEN KANDER AND COMPANY Negotiators for the Purchase and Sale of Radio and Television Stations WASHINGTON NEW YORK CHICAGO DENVER 1625 Eye Street N.W. NAtional 8-1990 60 East 42nd Street MUrray Hill 7-4242 35 East Wacker Drive RAndolph 6-6760 1700 Broadway AComa 2-3623 Page 68 • December 9, 1957 MOBILE RADIO USERS MULL SPACE SQUEEZE • Tv, fm channels mentioned • IRE session held in D. C. Vehicular communications stalwarts held a two-day conference in Washington last week — and very delicately and only in one meeting was any indication given they covet some of television's and fm's frequencies. References to broadcasting frequencies were elliptical and the meeting, sponsored by the Professional Group on Vehicular Communications of the Institute of Radio Engineers, was a panel discussion on mobile radio and spectrum space. Daniel E. Noble, Motorola Inc. vice president, made two comments that mentioned broadcasting frequency space. If a tv channel is not being used somewhere, he said, maybe it could be used by some other service. At another point he said that television was not using all the spectrum space it was allocated. Mobile users are crying for more space; therefore, he said, "It is reasonable to believe that where channels are not being used they will be allocated to those who need them." Mason S. Collett, Atlantic Refining Co. and chairman of the Petroleum Institute's communications committee, said it was hard for him to Understand why the mobile bands are so crowded while tv's uhf bands are so little used. He made it plain that the petroleum industry is not asking the FCC to take away space from television, but that he was sure when the FCC weighed the needs of the mobile users and found they needed more space, the Commission also would realize there is unused tv space available. Mr. Collett also suggested that mobile services should not be required to expand above 890 mc while tv's uhf band (470-890 mc) is not fully used. One lone voice admonished the mobile experts that they were not efficiently using their present space, and probably did not require additional frequencies. This was C. M. Jansky Jr., Washington consulting engineer. Mr. Jansky urged greater efficiency in the use of present frequencies, particularly in the maritime services. He also stressed the need for continued, intensive use of fm in the maritime's vhf bands, and called for multichannel equipment to utilize space to the utmost. Another reference to broadcast space was Mr. Collett's allusion to the 72-76 mc mobile band as "almost useless" because of the restrictions placed on users to protect chs. 4 and 5 from interference. Chs. 4 and 5 are on either side of this mobile band. Mr. Noble foresaw the future of mobile services in the use of single sideband systems. He also strongly urged a new approach to allocations — geographic assignments using computers to maintain the "discipline of assignments." He acknowledged that this principle could be extended to include all assignments, broadcast as well as non-broadcast. This has been broached before. It is predicated on the assumption that if a tv channel or other "block" assignment is not being Broadcasting