Dhaka – Broadcast, cable and satellite TV operators in Bangladesh, in conjunction with the international satellite communications industry, have called for the government to take rapid action to halt the disruption of TV services suffered by millions of Bangladeshi households due to severe interference from the wireless broadband technology WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access).

The Cable Operators Association of Bangladesh (COAB), the Global VSAT Forum (GVF), and the regionally-based Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA), met last week in Dhaka to discuss the issue. The organizations are in co-ordination with the World Broadcasting Unions – International Satellite Operations Group (WBU-ISOG). The meeting was hosted by Hong Kong-based satellite service provider APT Satellite, which has conducted extensive field tests to confirm that the source of the interference is from WiMAX operators.

Gregg Daffner, Chairman of CASBAA’s Wireless Action Group said: “The largely unanticipated implications of the introduction of WiMAX services at 3.5 GHz is causing widespread transmission failures throughout the country and can be especially serious for news broadcasters who use the lower end of the Standard C-band spectrum.”

David Hartshorn, Secretary General of GVF, said in a statement that one solution to the problem is for WiMAX service operators to use other less-crowded frequencies. In other markets, WiMAX operators have successfully migrated from the 3.5GHz band, “so we know we can resolve the crisis in Bangladesh,” said Hartshorn.