Sprint Nextel has made significant progress on completing the 2GHz Broadcast Auxiliary Service relocation project with 88 percent of all BAS equipment being delivered and 75 percent of all U.S. BAS operators having received their equipment, it said this week.
In its bimonthly progress report submitted to the Federal Communications Commission June 1, the company said it has transitioned 15 more markets since its last update submitted 60 days ago. To date, BAS licensees in 103 markets have been relocated to frequencies above 2025MHz, and 60 percent of all broadcasters have completed their relocation.
Since its last update submitted in April, the company has transitioned the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach/Ft. Pierce markets. The Miami/Ft. Lauderdale relocation involved 39 ENG trucks, 32 central receive sites, five fixed links, four helicopters, 22 portable transmitters, 54 spares and 18 studio master antenna control systems, the report said.
The West Palm Beach/Ft. Pierce relocation also proved to be demanding. It included 14 central receive sites, 12 fixed links, seven studio master antenna control systems, two helicopters, six portable transmitters and 11 spares.
Since its last update, Sprint Nextel also has relocated BAS operators in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. According to the report, the work in Puerto Rico was “one of the more diverse relocation efforts to date.” In all, 17 separate participants required relocation, and two installers relocated 12 of them in less than two months. Due to the rugged terrain of Puerto Rico, installation teams had a tough time reaching mountainous transmitter sites.
The report quoted one of the Puerto Rico participants who wrote the Sprint Nextel following the relocation: “‘el viernes pasado Puerto Rico y Sprint Nextel escribieron la historia en la industria de la Televisión en Puerto Rico,’ which roughly translates to ‘This past Friday, Puerto Rico and Sprint Nextel wrote television history in Puerto Rico.’”
