The fifth step in implementing a community distribution scheme is to build the distribution infrastructure you designed with the help of the engineer in step 2.

Infrastructure for Rebroadcasting

The infrastructure for rebroadcasting will include:

• A tower (if no existing building is appropriate, and if there is no transmission tower in the community belonging to other entities on which you could obtain space).
• One or more satellite receiving dishes to obtain the remote signals you want.
• One or more digital transmitters and antennae to rebroadcast these signals out to the community.
• Each household that wants to receive the package of rebroadcast channels needs a digital television set (or an analog-to-digital converter for older TVs) and an antenna.

Infrastructure for Cablecasting

The infrastructure for cablecasting will include:

• A centrally located "head end" (a building or a small room within an existing building on which the satellite dish to receive the signals will be installed, and from which the cables carrying these signals will radiate out to the community).
• One or more satellite receiving dishes to obtain the remote signals you want.
• A digital converter in the head end to convert the satellite signal into a format televisions can display.
• Cable to each building in the community that wants to receive the signals. These can either be mounted on telephone or hydro poles or placed underground in public rights of way.

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Go to Step 6

The fourth step in implementing a community distribution scheme is to decide whether you want to offer local content. The ability to offer local content is one of the great advantages for communities of owning and operating their own distribution infrastructure.

TV OR RADIO

If you decide to offer a local community TV or radio service, you will need to obtain a programming licence from the CRTC. CACTUS can assist. The process is straightforward once you have your distribution licence, and the licence itself costs nothing.

The community TV service could be as simple as a text bulletin board service announcing local events, the weather, or promotions for local businesses. At its most complex, it could offer full moving video programming for part or all of the day.

Setting up a community television or radio production facility isn't as hard as it sounds. It could be as simple as a computer server where individuals in the community can upload text event information or home-shot footage, to a small studio or recording booth maintained in the local highschool, college, community centre, or library.

A COMMUNITY WEB PORTAL

If you've decided to offer Internet services to the community, it's easy to offer an Internet portal with a mix of text, pictures, video or audio about local events, weather, news, or promotions for local businesses. You don't need a licence to create a community web site.

MULTIMEDIA SKILLS TRAINING AND PRODUCTION

The decision to offer local content isn't an either-or decision as far as the medium. For example, Internet portals can offer text, still pictures, audio and video content. The video and audio content could replay on a broadcast or cablecast channel in the community. Similarly, if you already have a community newspaper or are thinking of creating one, the articles could also appear on the web site.

The third step to implement a community distribution scheme is to decide whether you require a distribution licence from the Canadian Radio, Television, and Telecommunications Commission (the CRTC). Smaller communities generally do not.

For examples, communities having fewer than 20,000 households generally do not require a cable licence, although there are certain technical and reporting standards they must meet. Similarly, communities that can be served with a low-power over-the-air transmitter (with a maximum radius of 12 kilometres) do not require a licence. CACTUS, working with the engineer, can help you with this process.

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Go to Step 4

The second step to implement a community distribution scheme is to consult an engineer, to determine which technology could best deliver the services you want for the price you can afford. CACTUS can help you find an engineer with experience working with similar communities.

• If you decide to offer a rebroadcasting (over-the-air) service, the engineer will help you prepare an engineering brief to submit to Industry Canada, to request one or more over-the-air channels (e.g. "channel 21" or "channels 21 and 34").
• If you decide to offer a cablecasting service, the engineer will help you design the cable network (where the cables will go).

Go Back to the List of Steps

Go to Step 3

The first step to implement a community distribution scheme is to convene a meeting with the municipality, band council or other civil planning authority, educational institutions, and cultural groups that may have an interest in generating local content. Decide what the goals of the project are:

• Maintain Service?
  Is our goal to replace TV services that we can't get anymore because one or more broadcasters have left our community?
• Expand Services?
  Do we want to expand the services that we can offer?

  If so, how many?

  Would those services include radio channels? TV channels? Internet or cell phone service?

  How will these municipally-community maintained services compare to services available from commercial providers such as cable or satellite?

• Offer Local Content?
  Do we want to include local content, like a community bulletin board? Video programming? Radio programming?

  How would this local content be generated?

• What Can We Afford?
  How much would residents be willing to pay for these services to cover the costs?

Go Back to the List of Steps

Go to Step 2.

Before satellite TV was introduced into Canada in the late 1990s, many remote Canadian communities had no TV. There were no broadcast transmission towers that reached them and they were too small to attract the attention of cable operators. Many of these communities either:

• Built their own transmission towers and paid for microwave or satellite uplinks to obtain remote signals from television broadcasters.
• Laid out their own cable infrastructure from house to house, by which they could distribute remote television signals to local residents.

Many of these communities still enjoy these TV transmission infrastructures. Some have added a community TV service as part of their local package. Others are now adding free wireless Internet, and emergency and weather information services. Many do it for a fraction of the cost per household of subscribing to a commercial cable or satellite service, and have the added benefit of local content.

For example, Valemount BC, with about 500 households, retransmits 6 remote TV channels and 3 remote radio channels in addition to a local community channel for about $40 per household per year. Residents pay for these services through their local taxes.

Small communities throughout Manitoba and Saskatchewan have cable co-operatives. Like Valemount, they choose the television services they want on the cable network, and they offer a local community channel.

Both options involve some start-up costs, but not as much as you might think. Over-the-air transmission equipment can sometimes be added to existing towers or buildings. By initiating conversations with your local broadcasters now, it may be possible for communities to access their towers, or maintain their towers and transmitters if the broadcaster leaves.

Click here to find out How to Distribute TV and Other services.