Revocation of licences for the rebroadcasting stations CBIT Sydney and CBKST Saskatoon and licence amendment to remove analog transmitters for 23 English- and French-language television stations
ref. - http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2012/2012-384.htm
Until you actually read the full document and realize that hundreds of communities across Canada lost their only off-air CBC TV channels. How did we get from 25 to over 500? Because the "analog transmitters for 23 English- and French-language television stations" includes hundreds of repeater transmitters in small, and not so small (e.g. - North Bay and Sudbury, Ontario), communities that repeat the broadcasts of those 23 stations. There are no digital transmitters to replace them.
It was not that long ago that no one questioned the need for OTA (Over The Air) television. But all that changed in both broadcaster and regulator minds when someone did the arithmetic and figured out that it was cheaper for cable companies to subsidize cable TV service for those who couldn't afford it (and who actually owned a TV) than it was to provide OTA, especially when the re-sale value of the freed-up spectrum was included in the equation.
Personally, I find myself agreeing with that argument, solely because of my long held prejudice against UHF as a viable spectrum for transmitting television signals. There are exceptions, of course. Put a million or two watts on a nice big mountain top that gives you true line of sight to a fairly large area and it can work. But, areas that are lucky enough to have a nice big mountain nearby usually have another fair size mountain that blocks line of sight from the first mountain. Vancouver may well be an exception, but what should be done in the rest of the world?
