BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, (CMC) — The Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) is urging Caribbean Community (Caricom) Governments to ensure decisions made in the regional and global forums of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) do not harm the interests of regional broadcasters.

The CBU, in a letter earlier this month to Caricom Heads of Government and Ministers responsible for broadcasting, provided results of recent international studies showing that spectrum-sharing in the lower Ultra High Frequency (UHF) could affect the survival of traditional broadcasters.

The CBU also presented the position on the issue published this month by the World Broadcasting Unions (WBU), which groups broadcasters from around the world

The CBU, along with the other uions that make up the WBU, has asked Caribbean leaders to recognise that current and future broadcast television services could be at risk from international and local interference if the governments represented at WRC-15 vote to share the lower UHF band with services other than broadcasters.

Supported by the other members of the WBU, the CBU is urging Caricom Governments to vote for no change to the current spectrum allocations at UHF frequencies 470 – 698 MHz.

The issue will also be featured during the CBU Annual General Assembly in Paramaribo, Suriname from August 18 to 21.

At the upcoming meeting a leading expert from the North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) will highlight the likely negative impact of a change to the allocation during the Digital Transition Forum.

In 2015, the ITU will stage the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2015 (WRC-15) at which a key agenda item will be whether to include telecommunications users in the lower Ultra High Frequency (UHF) spectrum, which is currently set aside for over-the-air television broadcasters.