Radio mics, what would we do without them? They have become a tool that we take very much for granted, meaning almost all productions use them. The type of quick turnover television we are used to has become very reliant on them whether they are used by a sound recordist, camera person or a researcher / AP ‘doing’ the sound. The same technology is also used for wireless links to camera, in-ear monitoring and of course the dozens of mics used on West End shows.

Radio microphone frequencies, unless you are a sound recordist are likely something that you never think about. Most radio mics used for TV production work on a set of frequencies from 854 – 862 Mhz more simply known as channel 69. If you work on a programme that involves multiple crews you might see a gaggle of recordists clustered around their electronic handbags first thing in the morning and wonder what they are doing. Other than gossiping they will most likely be working out how to divide the frequencies that work together between the crews that need them. It’s an essential bit of preparation, often transparent to anyone else that helps a shoot run smoothly.

Anyone who users a channel 69 radio mic needs a licence to do so. Less known is that at the start of 2013 all these licenses will be withdrawn and the frequencies handed over to a big paying buyer as part of the digital dividend. The mics currently owned by recordists, productions who have bought their own, facilities houses who rent them out, camera people, West End shows etc will become obsolete and need to be either modified or simply thrown away and replaced. Using the currently available equipment won’t just be unlawful, it’ll become impossible because something else will be using that part of the spectrum. The radio mic you, your company or your sound recordist paid £2,500 for last year will have turned into useless junk.

So why is this happening? It’s all part of the “Digital Dividend”. The analogue television signal will be turned off all over the country by 2012 freeing a large amount of radio spectrum. OFCOM are using this opportunity to reorganise the spectrum and sell off a slice generating income. Part of that slice includes channel 69 which will most likely go to a mobile phone company or similar allowing them to use the same part of the spectrum all other Europe. It’s suggested it will be used to provide things like video over the mobile phone network and wireless broadband. Good news for the consumer you might think but bad news for us who ironically currently use radio mics to produce the programming that might one day appear as content on those mobile networks. The sell off was due to take place prior to the Olympic games and the fact it has been moved reflects the amount of chaos OFCOM must realise this will generate. Imagine the games without access to radio mics!

Switching to another area of the spectrum is not as straight forward as it may sound. There’s only a certain amount of the spectrum that is suitable for radio mic use at all and much of that is currently occupied. The idea that has currently been put forward is using Channel 38, currently used by astronomy, radio telescopes like Jodrell Bank. So first they would have to be given a new home. Channel 38 on it’s own is unlikely to provide enough space for all the users being displaced. Theatre shows and other radio mic using events often use additional frequencies outside channel 69 which are also being displaced by the sell off, as yet nothing has been suggested to replace them.

Some of the newer radio mics may be modifiable to channel 38, at a price, £800 has been suggested per system but many if not most will not be practical to modify and will have to be replaced at a cost of about £2500 per system. Most sound recordists will own at least 2 radio mics, often more, facilities houses obviously a lot more.

The transition period for this may be as little as one year, which brings us to our next problem with the whole changeover. Channel 38 is not yet confirmed as our new home. The companies who make radio mics used in the UK are selling very few units at the moment because everyone knows that they will be soon be useless. Those same companies are going to have to do a lot of research and development very quickly to provide microphones for the new frequencies. They will also want to look at modifying existing units as well as actually building the vast amount of microphones that will be needed in time for the switchover. They will be doing this against a background of ever decreasing sales income from their current products and a global recession. They can’t even start yet as the new frequencies are not confirmed. One manufacturer I spoke to thought a lead time of at least 3 years would be needed to do the necessary work. OFCOM needs to make a decision soon!

Finally, since everyone currently using channel 69 will have to replace all their gear there is obviously going to be a lot of additional expenditure. Radio mics normally are usable for a great many years before replacing so it’s going to be a financial shock for many. OFCOM are promising “funding” for those licensed users who bought mics before the original announcement of the withdrawal of the frequencies. How much you get may depend on how old the equipment is, regardless of whether you would otherwise have continued to use it. Currently it seems there will be no funding for unlicensed users, or anyone unfortunate enough to have bought after the announcement was made.

So, if you or your company own radio mics check, are they on the affected frequencies? Do you have a licence? If you don’t have license and you are using radio mics anywhere in channels 61-69 (790 – 862 Mhz) you’ll be facing a big bill to update. If you have a license, and you believe OFCOM you should get “funding” to help replace them….

As to the cut off date of when the announcement was made – well there’s even debate as to when that was. The announcement was made, withdrawn, then remade so no-one is quite sure.

I, and many others await the outcome with interest.

You can read more about radio mic licensing at http://www.jfmg.co.uk/