Communities that would like to ‘turn the CBC back on’ have until October 9th to bid on the CBC’s analog transmitters and towers, which will otherwise be disposed of, reports the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS).
The towers are still seen as extremely valuable with uses to distribute not only the CBC or Radio-Canada but also community TV or radio, other distant TV or radio services or even wireless high-speed Internet being considered.
The CBC and Radio-Canada shut down 623 analog transmitters on July 31, ending over the air analog access to the public broadcaster in hundreds of small towns.
"The community of Hay River, NWT has already obtained English CBC, Radio-Canada and APTN transmitters," said Catherine Edwards of CACTUS.
Gary Hoffman, the volunteer who runs the Hay River TV Society, said, "We also rebroadcast the Movie Channel, the Family Channel, the History Channel, Global, CTV and Access the Education Station from the top of an apartment tower. It only costs 36 dollars per household per year. Any community can do it."
"If communities miss the October 9th dead-line, there’s one other option for individuals that want to restore free service," said Edwards. "CBC and Radio-Canada channels in HD from five cities across Canada along with the Weather Network, MétéoMédia, APTN, Télé Québec, CityTV and CTV2 are available unscrambled by satellite."
Serge Cormier of Dr. Sat, a satellite dealer from Oakville Ontario, elaborated: "A fixed dish that costs about $400 can receive almost 20 Canadian services and is easy to install. If you buy a motorized system that can follow different satellites (starting at around $700), you can bring in over 750 channels from around the world, including 250 English and 20 French services. The classic black mesh dishes that you often see in rural communities can also be retrofitted by purchasing a digital HD receiver starting at about $125. The great thing about these solutions is that once you’ve got the dish, there are no monthly fees."