Distribution List

Prime Minister
Harper.S@parl.gc.ca
Tel: (613) 992-4211
Fax: (613) 941-6900

 

Foreign Affairs Minister
MacKay.P@parl.gc.ca
Tel: (613) 992-6022
Fax: (613) 992-2337

 

Canadian Heritage Minister
Oda.B@parl.gc.ca
Tel: (613) 992-2792
Fax: (613) 992-2794

 

 

Subject

External Affairs: Radio Canada International (RCI)

  1. RCI: Global Audibility Improvement Program (new target areas, languages and services)
  2. RCI: New Language Services (Persian, Hindi, Cantonese, Tamil, Thai, etc)
  3. RCI in Global Diplomacy / Departmental Reorganization is long overdue

 

Canada Needs RCI

The developed (and developing world) needs to be able to distinguish Canada from the US as soon as reasonably possible, for Canada's own long term security.

 

How Canada is unknown in the rest of the world, case examples

  1. Most young New Zealanders have difficulty distinguishing Canada from the US.
  2. No Canadian TV or Radio newscasts are available in Australia, Fiji or NZ.
  3. The overall public opinion of Canada in Western, Central and Eastern Europe has not improved in the post Cold War era.

 

RCI must stabilize the "Near Abroad" as well as the "Far Abroad"

 

US international broadcasting: essentially detrimental to Canada

American religious and private international broadcasters (that broadcast from shortwave relay stations inside the US) have been criticized for airing brokered programming that is overtly extremist.

 

Most US international broadcast programming (on shortwave that is broadcast to the developing world) is Christian fundamentalist or radical right wing politically oriented in nature. A few of these programs are openly racist in nature. Much of the programming emanating from American stations is in English and is clearly intended for a domestic audience. Although some US international broadcasting programming is good for Canada, most programming is drowned out by content that is not good or helpful.

 

The FCC has historically frowned on shortwave radio broadcasts intended for a domestic audience, but since the early 1990s has shown little to no interest in regulating the shortwave bands. This “laissez-faire” FCC attitude coupled with the very low cost of airtime has increased the popularity of leasing shortwave transmission capacity among some religious and political radicals whose views are detrimental to Canada’s well being.

 

The Voice of America (VOA, the American state’s international broadcaster) broadcasts programming that is equally detrimental to Canada’s strategic needs and interests.

 

It is hard in principal and in practice to separate VOA from the US “Military Political Economic Complex” that President Eisenhower so disliked.

 

The VOA (and all of its related BBG agencies) cost the US taxpayer some 1,220,000,000 USD per year on average. If VOA were an independent broadcaster, it would only cost 400,000,000 USD to run per year – about the same as Radio France International.

 

The VOA has evolved into a client agency of the US “Fortune 1000” since Edward R Murrow left as director in the mid-1960s. The VOA has not actively cooperated with RCI (except technically) since the 1960s.

 

Canada’s international broadcasting needs to counteract the negative effects of US international broadcasting. Specifically -- RCI should not be run like VOA in any way. Canada’s national interests demand a “reboot” of our current international broadcasting methods, practices and resources.

 

The RCI Global Audibility Program (OVERVIEW)

 

Long term funding is needed to provide for more language services and shortwave relay station facilities. Without an effective shortwave broadcasting infrastructure (shortwave being the backbone of international broadcasting) -- RCI's geopolitical impact (and Canada's) will be reduced severely.

 

With a global shortwave distribution backbone, it is easier to distribute RCI terrestrially via FM, FM-DAB (HD-Radio), DAB (Eureka-147), MW and LW – as well as satellite radio.

 

  1. RCI's existing language sections namely: Russian, Ukrainian, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and Portuguese need a mandatory immediate budget increase of 12% to 24% in order to maintain their current assets and capabilities.
  2. RCI's English and French services need to be expanded globally to keep up with the decline of BBC World Service (BBCWS), Radio Australia (RA), Radio France International (RFI) and Dutche Welle (DW).
  3. RCI needs a Global Broadcast Centre (for radio and TV broadcasting) in Ottawa, separate initially from its current Montreal HQ.

 

RCI’s organizational structure is dysfunctional

The audibility improvement program below is based on research that Power Broadcasting has conducted over a number of years. The RCI staff has no involvement in this, this is unfortunate as

 

  1. RCI does have technical information that would be very useful in the optimization of this proposal. This proposal is based exclusively on “open sourced” information.
  2. RCI traditionally has lacked the necessary civilian covert action cores “skill sets” that are required to run a successful international broadcasting agency in the post Cold War era.
  3. RCI is in such internal 'disrepair' that the organization is incapable of devising its own audibility program.

 

Core concepts of the RCI Audibility Program


Video illustration of the intended programme

 

RCI needs to quantify (to the public) is broadcasting policy on a region by region basis

  1. The USA (including AK & HI), Bermuda, (Iceland & Greenland)
  2. Latin America, Patagonia & the Caribbean (Greater & Lesser Antilles)
  3. Europe & Former European USSR
  4. The Arab-Islamic World, including Central Asia & North Africa
  5. Africa (East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa)
  6. North Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Russian Far East etc)
  7. South Asia (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, etc)
  8. South East Asia, Indonesian Archipelago
  9. Australia, NZ and Pacific Islands

 

It is in the national interest for RCI to start broadcasting in the following languages to the following regions

 

Existing language sections that need to be expanded

 

 

Languages related to current broadcast languages, but reaching new target areas

 

 

South Asia, new language services

Time lease is possible at shortwave relay stations in Sri Lanka, Madagascar and Russia.

 

 

Language services of equal strategic value, but with specific targeting requirements

 

 

 

The W5 of “Part Time” language sections

 

RCI does not need to have all its language sections running 7 days a week, but to be effective it would be assumed that a language service should either run 5 days a week or 2 days a week.

  1. The shortened programming schedule still allows for these language services to reach their intended audiences, but at decreased cost to the broadcaster.
  2. These part time language services must [in principal] be funded to run for at least a decade without any funding interruptions. Continuity in external language broadcasting is very important with respect to maintaining a nation's positive reputation globally.

 

 

Some initial suggestions for part time language services are

 

Europe & Central Asia

 


Africa (West, Central & East Africa; see: http://cbc.am/Africa_language_official.png)

 


Asia-Pacific

Tok Pisin (Papua New Guinea): Indonesian Archipelago & Pacific Islands. Tok Pisin is spoken throughout most of Papua New Guinea but it most heavily used in the National Capital District and the New Guinea Islands. It is one of the official languages of Papua New Guinea and the most widely used language in PNG. Tok Pisin is spoken in PNG by 4 million people as a second language with over a 100,000 speakers having it as a 1st language. Providing some 90 minutes of programming per day to this region would help to fulfill Canada's mandate to aid its Commonwealth allies in the Pacific Islands.

 

Technical & Budgetary Annex, Part Time Services

 

A structural and equipment modernization program is needed to keep RCI strategically current with the most up to date broadcasting technology and infrastructure

1.      RCI must be funded minimally by 5 year or 7 year block grants.

2.      Yearly funding of RCI must cease immediately. Funding RCI on a year by year basis makes planning for geopolitical changes and looming geopolitical crises impossible.

3.      RCI must be allowed to set aside a small part of its budget for FOREX securities trading, as this has become a limited but viable income for corporations and households via products like 4X Made Easy, etc. As a rule, any money RCI makes off of FOREX – the government should match it dollar for dollar. The goal of having a FOREX income stream is to supplement the plant an equipment budget.

 

RCI is in need of a long overdue reorganization of the way it manages its resources

 

The RCI Audibility Program (Facilities)

 

British Columbia

Plant and Equipment: A compliment of at least 3 transmitters @ 500 kW from a Vancouver Island location (Tofino, Uuculet) would permit RCI to broadcast to all the necessary target areas 18 hours per day with a robust 500 kW  signal. It is assumed that each transmission site would be separated by at lease 60 kms from its nearest neighbor, and at least 10 kms from any population centre. The facilities could be switched to cover Canada with at least 6 hours of shortwave relays of CBC-SRC North, similar to Russia’s Radio Myack Service.

 

For more detail, visit: http://cbc.am/rci-bc.htm


It must be noted that with the 2010 Olympic Games are only 990 or less days away. It is in Canada's national interest (in the Asia-Pacific and Latin American Regions) to have at least two ALLISS modules in operation in BC -- as a matter of international prestige.

 

Central Canada

A 2nd RCI shortwave broadcasting facility should be built in the southern Saskatchewan or southwest Manitoba.

 

A Central Canada transmitter site would provide a direct North to South path for shortwave broadcasting.

 

North to South shortwave transmission paths can be easily optimized, as daytime and nighttime F1 and F2 layer behavior (and usable frequencies) are almost identical at the transmitter and receiver locations.

 

A Central Canada location would provide RCI with near primary coverage of South America (specifically Patagonia) and backup coverage of the eastern Asia-Pacific region (Pacific Islands excluding Australia and PNG) and very high quality secondary coverage of the Caribbean (Greater and Lesser Antilles).

 

Plant and Equipment: One shortwave transmitter capable of 500 kW of output power would be required, with a 100 kW backup transmitter. The facility could also provide (using a different antenna system) at least 6 hours of shortwave relays of CBC-SRC North, similar to Russia’s Radio Myack Service.

 

With a separate set of 2 multiplexed Log Periodic Horizontal antennas (100 kW distributed into 2 antennas, at 50 kW each) the Arctic and most of Canada’s EEZ can be covered with domestic radio service programming from CBC-SRC North.

 

For more detail: http://cbc.am/rci-sask.htm

 

Alternate proposal (Central Canada relay station):

RCI should acquire the “Caribbean Relay Company” (CRC, a DW / BBCWS joint venture) of Antigua.

 

CRC transmission facilities in Antigua have been mothballed because TDF (Telediffusion de France) facilities in French Guyana provide equivalent service on mainland South America.

 

 

Technical issues covering BC and Central Canada locations

 

Transmitter power

In real world international broadcasting 300 kW shortwave transmitter power is OK 90% of the time. With optimal frequency and antenna selection, 500 kW output power can be avoided. When geopolitical crisis happen 500 kW of transmission power should always be available. Most crises like this resolve themselves in less than a week, but during this time international broadcasting supplements diplomacy in the target zone.

 

 

Urban electromagnetic noise (EMI) has increased in North America since the 1920s due to people using more electromagnetic devices per capita. Urban EMI is lower (by 6db) in Central America, the Caribbean and most of South America (where it decreases by as much as 12db in Patagonia).

 

Latin America and the South Pacific listeners [in practice] do not need RCI transmit at 500 kW all the time – just during electromagnetic storms. In a matter of speaking, 500 kW shortwave transmitters were designed with audibility in mind – but 500 kW output power is not obligatory.

 

Electrical power (supply and demand)

Coastal windmill farms (that are owned and operated by RCI) could supply RCI’s shortwave relay stations with up to 80% of their electricity needs, at least seasonally. Wind farms that are large enough can also supply electricity to nearby communities, providing income for RCI. RCI should be permitted to build up wind farms in a joint venture capacity with the existing provincial electricity generation and transmission entities, like BC Hydro.

 

DRM

DRM (a digital shortwave transmission technology) as a modulation format can increase the efficiency of SW transmitters, but the overall increase in efficiency will is limited. Most of RCI’s new transmitters will need to be analog (AM modulation), as 99.9% of the world’s receivers are analogue. DRM will allow RCI to be rebroadcast via local radio in the developing world – as DRM makes a near ideal Studio to Transmitter Link technology. All AM shortwave transmitters can be upgraded to DRM. The DRM infrastructural upgrade process is expected to take 20 years to complete, as it takes time for DRM receiver numbers to increase. Traditional analog shortwave recovers have an average lifetime of 30 years.

 

CBC-SRC North, shortwave relays via RCI facilities

CBC-SRC North should be relayed at 50 kW for at least 16 {hours / day} via shortwave, with nationwide coverage. Uniform national coverage is already in CBC-SRC’s mandate. This mandate has never been achieved in practice, but CBC-SRC has not been taken to court over its lack of national coverage.

 

The CBC-SRC does not yet have a “Civil Defense” mandate similar to what Radio New Zealand has. Legislation governing CBC-SRC needs to be changed to reflect the need for a civil defense mandate. With a Civil Defense mandate, relaying CBC-SRC by shortwave (at higher power levels) becomes feasible.

 

 

Changes at RCI Sackville

 

The oldest RCI shortwave transmitters should be donated to the National Research Council (NRC) for use in Western Canada at a secondary CHU transmission site.

 

With the retirement of RCI’s oldest transmitters, new space will be freed up at the Sackville facility. This extra space will increase worker safety and allow Sackville staff to provide ancillary technical support services for other RCI shortwave broadcasting facilities.

 

 


Sackville’s exclusivity (as a transmission site) has made RCI technical staff complacent in their engineering practices for at least 3 decades.


 

New Media: the Internet and Digital Audio Broadcasting open up new audiences

 

 

Geographical reorganization (draft v 0.7)

 

RCI should be geographically reorganized with its

 

Headquarters in Ottawa

 

European, Eurasian & African languages in Montreal

 

Asian languages located in Vancouver / Victoria  / Calgary

 

Shortwave transmission facilities in

 

 

SUMMARY

Here is a tangible list of benefits of expanding RCI’s capabilities and services

  1. Improved audibility: If RCI were to expand its transmission facilities within the parameters suggested here, RCI would be able to choose the best shortwave, MW (AM) and FM relay sites for its programming. Increased signal quality has many direct geopolitical benefits.
  2. International diplomacy: How does Canada expect to have other nations at the UN (or any other international body) to vote in its favor? Canada's interaction should not be limited to just a few diplomats, resident High Commissioners, UN representatives, and Tourists. Canada can neither choose its friends nor its enemies.
  3. International & Regional Security: When a nation broadcasts radio programs into a region, the "Human Security" of the nation doing the broadcasting is increased. Human Security is one of Canada's primary long term foreign affairs objectives.
  4. Immigration: Canada's policy of attracting skilled immigrants begins far from Canada's borders. Skilled immigrants need to know as much about Canada [as possible] before they arrive. The more they know about how Canada runs itself -- the less likely they will make decisions that will directly cost municipal and provincial ratepayers. RCI’s Viva programs are a step in the right direction. Canada currently lacks what Australia has: a TV and Radio network aimed at immigrants – SBS. Until a dedicated radio and TV network aimed at immigrants exists – RCI’s immigration “know before you go” mandate must be adequately funded. Even if Canada does create a local equivalent to SBS, this will only change RCI’s migration mandate slightly.

 

 


Max Power, CEO
Power Broadcastng