The reality is, any reasonably sized TV market is quite large. Up and down the
East Coast, radii of 40 miles or more are hardly rare.
Given this fact, and that SFNs can only in practice consist of very few towers,
and the fact that overlap in the suburbs is also required, you cannot assume
that the same frequency channel can be used throughout adjacent markets. That
makes no sense.
Yes, you can use the same channel, if you limit the coverage in the adjacent
market. So the same channel in adjacent markets won't interfere with a full
power station needing overlapping coverage in the distant suburbs. SFNs would
permit this, and so do big sticks.
I know I've done this before, but some people forget these facts in a
heartbeat. The sort of frequency reuse, where the same frequency channel is
used in adjacent markets, but without encroaching in the overlap area, is
*already* taking place.
Here are some real-world examples, with Philadelphia, Baltimore, Wash DC, and
Richmond:
Ch 38 is used in Philadephia, Baltimore, and Richmond.
Ch 45 and 48 are used in Philadelphia, Wash DC, Richmond.
Ch 24, 30, 33, 34, 35, 47 are used in Philadelphia and Wash DC (or Fairfax VA).
Ch 25, 28, 44 are used in Wash DC and Richmond.
And this doesn't even consider close-by smaller markets, such as Fredericksburg
VA (Ch 44, like DC and Richmond), or Roanoke VA (Ch 5 like Fredericksburg, 20,
28, 30, 36, 44, 45, 47, like DC and sometimes Richmond).
So, "hundreds of miles" is nonsense. SFNs or no, frequency channels are reused
between adjacent markets already, as long as they don't encroach on the suburbs
between the two markets. In practice, SFNs of 2 to 4 towers, which can actually
cover these same market areas, will not do much better. Sorry, Craig.
Bert
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