53. This part of the guidelines applies to a licensee or an authorised person who intends to implement, or change the technical operating specification of, an analog television broadcasting service occupying a channel in the 45 to 52 MHz, 56 to 70 MHz, 85 to 108 MHz, 137 to 144 MHz, 174 to 230 MHz, or 520 to 820 MHz bands of the radiofrequency spectrum.
54. The transmitter site shall be located within the licence area of the related licence, unless otherwise stated in the technical specifications of the LAP.
Note The transmitter should desirably be located so that, for a particular broadcasting band, viewers within population centres of the licence area of the service are able to receive all television services licensed to serve that area by means of a single outdoor antenna appropriate for that band.
56. Regardless of the location of the transmitter site, the ERP of the transmission in any given direction shall not exceed the maximum ERP specified in the LAP.
57. If there is no technical specification specified in a LAP for a transmitter, the ERP of the transmission in any given direction shall not exceed that specified in the technical conditions of the transmitter licence.
Note Guideline 57 does not preclude a licensee seeking a variation of the relevant licence condition.
58. Unless otherwise specified in the LAP or transmitter licence conditions, a licensee is required to provide a minimum level of service within the licence area. If a transmitter is sited at the nominal location and an omnidirectional pattern is specified for the transmitter in the LAP, the ERP of the transmission is to be no more than 5 dB below the maximum ERP specified in the LAP. If a transmitter is sited at the nominal location and a directional radiation pattern is specified for the transmitter in the LAP, the ERP of the transmission is to be no more than 5 dB below the maximum ERP specified in the LAP, over at least 60 per cent of each defined arc. The licensee must ensure that the ERP of the transmission in the direction of any urban centre within the licence area is no more than 5 dB below the maximum ERP specified in the LAP.
Note The ABA in considering whether to exercise its discretion in relation to the minimum power of a service will have regard to the fact that operation at power levels below that planned for the service may result in interference to the service. The ABA’s planning framework will not generally protect services from interference in these circumstances.
59. If a transmitter is not sited at the nominal location, the licensee shall provide at least a minimum level of service to those urban centres in the licence area that would have received a service from a transmitter operating from the nominal location at the minimum ERP requirements specified in guideline 58.
Part Part 5 - Technical Planning Guidelines (December 2003) - ANALOG TELEVISION | Zoe
60. For the purpose of application of guideline 59, the minimum level of service in an urban centre is achieved if the received median field strength is equal to, or greater than, the planned minimum field strength.
Table 5.1: Minimum median field strength figures for analog television
(50% of locations, 50% of the time, measured at 10 metres above ground level – see guideline 9)
| TV Transmission Band | Frequency Range (MHz) | Field Strength (dBµV/m) |
| I | 45 ‑ 70 | 50 |
| II | 85 ‑ 108 | 50 |
| III | 137 ‑ 230 | 50 |
| IV | 520 ‑ 582 | 62 |
| V | 582 ‑ 820 | 67 |
Maximum antenna height
61. If a transmitter is sited at the nominal location, the licensee shall ensure that the height of the electrical centre of the transmitting antenna above ground does not exceed the maximum height specified in the LAP.
62. If there is no technical specification specified in a LAP for a transmitter, the height of the electrical centre of the transmitting antenna above ground shall not exceed that specified in the technical conditions of the transmitter licence.
Note Guideline 62 does not preclude a licensee seeking a variation of the relevant licence condition.
63. If a transmitter is sited at a location other than the nominal location, the licensee shall ensure that the height of the electrical centre of the transmitting antenna above Australian Height Datum does not exceed the maximum antenna height above Australian Height Datum at the nominal location permitted by the LAP.
Note The LAP specifies the maximum antenna height above ground at the nominal location. To calculate the equivalent antenna height above Australian Height Datum, the maximum antenna height specified in the LAP must be added to the height above Australian Height Datum of the nominal location.
64. A transmitter shall be sited so that not more than 1 per cent of the total population receiving at least the planned minimum field strength reside in areas with received field strengths greater than 110 dBµV/m.
65. A transmitter shall not be sited so that a significant part of the population receiving at least the planned minimum field strength reside in areas with received field strengths greater than 120 dBµV/m (1 V/m). For the purpose of this guideline, 0.1 per cent of the population or 100 persons, whichever is less, constitutes a ‘significant part’.
Note 1 Guidelines 64 and 65 deal with potential interference and/or degradation in receiver performance due to excessive signal levels at the input terminals of the analog television receiver.
Note 2 Subject to guidelines 61 to 63, the height of the antenna above ground level and/or the vertical radiation pattern may be altered to assist in complying with guidelines 64 and 65.
66. If a transmitter is sited at a location other than the nominal location, the licensee must ensure that the median field strength of the transmission in any urban centre beyond the licence area boundary does not exceed the greater of:
the field strength, for the frequency band of operation, specified in table 5.1.
67. If there is no technical specification specified in a LAP for a transmitter, the median field strength of the transmission in any urban centre beyond the licence area boundary must not exceed the field strength for the frequency band of operation specified in table 5.1 unless otherwise specified in the transmitter licence conditions.
68. A licensee of an analog television broadcasting service shall not cause unacceptable interference to an analog television service that is:
being received within its licence area, national signal reception area or narrowcasting service area, as applicable; and
being received with median field strengths equal to, or greater than, the planned minimum field strength.
69. For the purpose of application of guideline 68, it is assumed that analog television services are being received using a television receiving system that has equivalent performance to the analog reference television receiving system. Where receiving systems are employed which have inferior performance to that of the analog reference television receiving system, or where their performance exceeds the performance of the analog reference television receiving system in ways that make them more sensitive to interference, interference protection will only be afforded to the level provided by the analog reference television receiving system.
70. For the purpose of application of guideline 68 to co-channel interference, ‘unacceptable interference’ means degradation in the ratio of wanted to unwanted signals, at the receiver input terminals of an analog reference television receiving system, of 2 dB or more due to the unwanted service, where the resulting co-channel ratio of wanted to unwanted signals is 40 dB or less.
71. A licensee of an analog television broadcasting service shall not cause unacceptable interference to a digital television service or a datacasting service that:
commenced operation prior to that analog service; and
is operating within the terms of the relevant DCP (or approved implementation plan) or datacasting transmitter licence, as appropriate; and
is being received within its licence area, national signal reception area or datacasting service area, as applicable; and
is being received with median field strengths equal to, or greater than, the planned minimum field strength.
72. For the purpose of application of guideline 71, it is assumed that digital television services or datacasting services are being received using a television receiving system that has equivalent performance to the digital reference television receiving system. Where receiving systems are employed which have inferior performance to that of the digital reference television receiving system, or where their performance exceeds the performance of the digital reference television receiving system in ways that make them more sensitive to interference, interference protection will only be afforded to the level provided by the digital reference television receiving system.
73. For the purpose of application of guideline 71 to co-channel interference, ‘unacceptable interference’ means degradation in the ratio of the wanted to unwanted signals, at the receiver input terminals of a digital reference television receiving system, of 1 dB or more due to the unwanted service, where the resulting co-channel ratio of wanted to unwanted signals is 3 dB or less.
74. If the operation of a transmitter causes unacceptable interference to an analog television service, digital television service or datacasting service, the licensee must (at the licensee’s own expense) adjust, or fit devices to, the transmitter or the affected receivers, or undertake other measures in order to reduce the interference to a level that is no longer unacceptable interference.
75. In addition to the conditions of guidelines 68 to 74 (which relate to analog television services, digital television services and datacasting services), a licensee shall, in consultation with affected parties, resolve complaints of interference to other radiocommunication services where that interference is caused by operation of the transmitter pursuant to the licensee's analog television broadcasting service.
76. Where the same set of analog television services can be received from more than one transmission site with signal levels above the planned minimum field strength, application of these guidelines shall ensure that the reception of at least one of the sets of services, but not necessarily all of the sets of the same services, is protected against interference from the unwanted service. Similarly, where multiple transmissions of the same analog television service can be received from a single transmission site with signal levels above the planned minimum field strength, these guidelines shall ensure that the reception of at least a UHF transmission is protected against interference from the unwanted service.
77. Where the same digital television service or datacasting service can be received from more than one transmission site with signal levels above the planned minimum field strength, application of these guidelines shall ensure that the reception of at least one of the signals is protected against interference from the unwanted service.
78. The radiated signal characteristics of a transmitter shall comply with the Emission Standard for the Australian Analog Terrestrial Television Service (see appendix 3).