BBC & ENCOMPASS ANNUAL REVIEW 2019 2020€¦ · business with Encompass and more specifically the migration of broadcast facilities from Wyvil Court (Vauxhall) to Encompass’ EMEA

BBC & ENCOMPASS ANNUAL REVIEW

2019 | 2020

www.encompass.tv

2YOUR CONTENT. DELIVERED.

CONTENTS

Chief Executive’s Foreword .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 03

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 04

International Operations ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 05

Projects – A Year in Review .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 06

Interview – Nick Thompson & Nigel Fry ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 08

Focus on A’Seela ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Customer Survey 2019 .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 12

Satellite Operations and Contract Management ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14

DRM – Bringing affordable Digital Radio to global audiences ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Looking Ahead .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 16

The Encompass Team .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17

Contacts ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 18


Chief Executive’s Foreword Bill Tillson | CEO | Encompass Digital Media

Hello, and welcome to this year’s Annual Review of Encompass’ relationship with the BBC World Service. It’s now been 23 years since the original outsourcing of World Service radio distribution and transmission. Although the name of the company delivering the services has changed a few times over the years, the core operating principles and values remain the same – to deliver the BBC’s world-class content to audiences around the world while maintaining high availability figures. Encompass continues to be proud to support the BBC’s ambition to reach 500 million audience members around the world each week. We have a growing international broadcast business with prestigious customers all over the world, and we are well aware of the important role we play in the success of those customers. The BBC is the linchpin of Encompass’ portfolio of global technology products – focused on supporting television and radio broadcasters, cable networks and OTT service providers.

This year, we’ve completed another important milestone: the integration of the ex-Babcock business with Encompass and more specifically the migration of broadcast facilities from Wyvil Court (Vauxhall) to Encompass’ EMEA headquarters in Chiswick, creating a world-class, cutting edge technical facility – the London Media Centre (LMC). The LMC is now home to over a thousand services, including playout channels, VOD services, OTT solutions and live event streaming, and delivers content throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. It’s also the central point of management and monitoring of the international radio and TV distribution services we provide to the BBC.

In this year’s review, we highlight the continued growth of the BBC’s global audience through the expansion of international partners, involving close cooperation between the World Service’s Business Development and Encompass’ International Operations teams, as well as major capital projects such as the work in Cyprus and on Ascension Island to maintain and improve the BBC’s broadcast infrastructure at key FM radio relays.

With our combined resources and new capabilities, Encompass now offers the BBC even more solutions to process and deliver content from any source, in any format, to any destination in the world. I’m looking forward to the next twelve months as we continue to build on our very successful relationship.


Executive Summary Paul Firth | Commercial Director | Radio Services

As we enter the 2020/21 financial year, we do so with a great deal of uncertainty compared to the previous 12 months. The coronavirus outbreak across the world is affecting the majority of the population one way or another. Some people have lost their loved ones while some have lost their jobs and their livelihoods. Others have had their freedom of movement restricted and many children are not going to school, all while a brave number of medical teams around the world work tirelessly every day to look after us all. At Encompass, like the BBC, we have members of staff who are working day and night to keep broadcasts on air and ensure audiences continue to receive news and entertainment. We thank them greatly. We hope the world can get on top of the virus as soon as possible and things can start to return to normal.

In the pages of this review, all of the articles were, of course, collated at a time before coronavirus as it is a look back at the previous 12 months.

The last year has seen tremendous work at a number of sites to maintain, improve and upgrade existing broadcast infrastructure: you will see this in the “projects” section, with a particular focus on a couple of interesting projects in Cyprus.

All our HF station teams work very hard to ensure broadcasts reach audiences around the world. Each station faces unique challenges in their day-to-day operation, and in this review, we focus on the BBC shortwave and medium wave station in Oman at A’Seela. I’m sure you will find it fascinating reading all about life at the station surrounded by both desert and ocean!

As ever, we are always keen to understand where we can improve our service to the BBC, and we have captured some of our feedback via the annual customer survey, with the results discussed in more detail here in this review.

No matter how many years I’ve been doing this job, something always comes up that surprises me and lately that has been the case with the planned refuelling of the IS10-02 satellite mid-flight. What might seem like an interesting and pioneering exercise in satellite technology actually has a potentially large impact on millions people on the ground consuming content. It’s been a challenge to know what to do for the best for audiences around the world.

The last 12 months has seen an incredible amount of interest in the world of digital international radio and in particular DRM. While the standard has been around for many years, it feels like we are at a tipping point, with receivers starting to be made more available to consumers and governments actively starting to declare it as a preferred standard. You will read about some of the advances that have been made here in this review.

Finally, while we are living in unusual times, I’m sure it will only be short-lived. We will soon return to life as it was before, although hopefully with a little more tolerance and compassion as we head into 2020/21.


New services, new technologies When the World 2020 initiative was launched three years ago, new BBC services were created specifically to reach new audiences on digital platforms; in turn, delivering content to partner stations has undergone a digital revolution. Satellite links have long been the main method of distribution, but over the last few years, the increasing availability of the internet around the world has led to the use of new digital technologies. Terrestrial solutions such as Zixi are now being used to stream digital TV feeds for live transmission, or to store content locally and then schedule it into local channels at pre-agreed times.

Whether it’s by satellite or the internet, International Operations engineers install and configure the receiving systems at the partner station, making sure the audio or video signal is reaching the partner’s own playout or live transmission suite.

Keeping audiences connected Once on the air, Encompass continues to provide comprehensive ‘after sales’ support for the hundreds of transmission systems and partners around the world through regular maintenance visits and an emergency response service.

One of the biggest challenges remains the logistics of reaching some of the world’s most remote locations. Often located in regions where geographical, political or meteorological factors (and sometimes all three) are key considerations, every installation has its own unique challenge. Whether it’s establishing a brand new partner or fixing faults at a mountain-top transmitter site – Encompass’ team is always ready to respond to keep the BBC on air.

International Operations Helping to keep the world informed

Bringing reliable and impartial news and information to global audiences, or restoring services in situations where faults or natural disasters have occurred, provides a lifeline for the local population who depend on a trustworthy source of information and education. Never has this been demonstrated more starkly than during the first few months of 2020.

Much of the recent growth in BBC global audiences has been achieved through partner agreements with TV and radio stations around the world who relay BBC content on local channels as part of their daily programming. Keeping them on the air, and helping the BBC to expand its network of partners, is Encompass’ International Operations team.

While traditional linear broadcast technologies like shortwave and FM still play an important role in growing the BBC’s global audience, the International Operations team is at the heart of reaching new markets by working closely with World Service Distribution and Business Development. As soon as a potential new partner is identified, engineers are busy working on the best method of delivering content, organising surveys of the station’s location and then carrying out the technical build, installation and commissioning.

The UK-based team is supported by a network of international contractors, mainly located in strategically important countries spread across Africa, Asia, South America and the Pacific region: local knowledge is always a bonus, as well as being physically closer to partner stations so that a quick response is possible when problems occur.


BBC Monitoring gets new ‘ears’ in Cyprus When BBC Monitoring moved from its long-established home in Caversham last year, Encompass was asked to review the satellite downlink facilities used by BBC journalists to monitor the radio and TV transmissions of other broadcasters around the world. Working closely with the BBC Monitoring and Distribution teams, Encompass proposed a new system which includes a massive 9-metre motorised satellite dish, together with two smaller fixed dishes. These are currently being installed on Cyprus, at the BBC’s medium wave transmitter site near Limassol. The new system is now in the final stages of commissioning and will be ready for full operation in July.

Projects – A Year in ReviewImproving FM transmissions in Africa and the Middle East Helping to grow the BBC’s global audience towards 500m is a network of FM relay stations in many of the world’s major cities, which broadcast BBC services 24 hours a day. The FM radio network is supported by Encompass’ International Operations team, who carry out routine planned maintenance of the transmission systems, as well as emergency repairs when faults occur. Encompass’ project engineers have been working with World Service Distribution to replace and upgrade FM transmitters across Africa to maintain their reliability and performance. New transmitters have already been installed in Malawi and Bahrain, with Zambia, Lesotho, Somalia, Gabon and Afghanistan next on the list.


Projects – A Year in ReviewKeeping the BBC’s shortwave voice in Africa on the air The BBC’s Atlantic Relay Station on Ascension Island beams World Service programmes in English and five other languages into Africa – home to one of the BBC’s largest international audiences. The extremely corrosive environment of the island has taken its toll over the years and five of the giant metal towers which support the shortwave antennas now need remedial work in order to maintain them in a safe and operational condition. The first stage of the project involved a specialist team of riggers who carried out a comprehensive inspection and structural analysis of the towers. The second stage, to repair or replace much of the steel lattice, is anticipated to commence later in 2020.

Lights, water, action! But it’s not just the shortwave relay station on Ascension Island that Encompass engineers manage and operate for the BBC. They are also responsible for the island’s electricity supply - generated by a Power Station and Windfarm which not only provides power to the transmitters, but for Ascension’s general population as well. And co-located with the Power Station is a desalination plant, which very efficiently converts sea water into drinking water for the entire island. Encompass engineers take care of the complex reverse osmosis systems, as well as the distribution network and storage tanks across the island.

The existing potable water pipeline extends some 10km from the desalination plant, running above ground and supported on concrete or steel plinths. It is now in need of attention as some of the flexible joint couplings have rusted in the corrosive environment, and the original UV protective paint has degraded. Encompass are now working with civil engineering contractors to carry out repairs in order to prolong its life – no mean task given that the pipeline crosses rough volcanic terrain where access for vehicles is very restricted.


Interview Nick Thompson & Nigel Fry

1. 2019 was a very busy year for Encompass as the transition from Vauxhall to Chiswick was completed. How is the new London Media Centre performing for the business, and what benefits will the BBC see?

[Nick] The London Media Centre (LMC) has been a huge undertaking and building it was a key milestone in migrating the ex-Babcock Media Services business across to Chiswick from Vauxhall. The space we have created is truly impressive; it is one of the largest live distribution control rooms in Europe and is underpinned by cutting-edge technology. Hundreds of thousands of hours of live and pre-recorded content will flow through the LMC every year from all corners of the world, to be consumed by audiences just as diversely spread on any possible platform you can imagine. From remote tribes in Africa listening to programmes on a radio, to a teenager in a 60-storey apartment block in Tokyo watching the latest J-league game on his iPhone, the LMC makes sure the audiences get the best, high-quality, trouble-free experience possible.

The BBC benefits from this by knowing Encompass has the ability not only to switch transmitters up to the last minute, keeping the World Service radio broadcasts on air, but also to go further and wider by offering full digital distribution of all BBC content to support the ever-growing expansion of World Service audiences.

[Nigel] The LMC is a cutting-edge facility with more skilled staff in a larger, well-resourced state-of-the-art environment than existed previously in Vauxhall. This offers many advantages, not only in that there are more colleagues better able to support any issues with BBC services but also with the BBC services being alongside many others it makes for a more efficient operation and potentially lower costs for the BBC.

2. Operationally, what have been the highlights of the last 12 months?

[Nick] Clearly the big one for Encompass has been completing the migration of hundreds of live services from Vauxhall to Chiswick without impacting any of our clients. For the BBC, the move – a year in the planning – was seamless.

Away from the migration, Encompass was proud to grow its support of live sports broadcasting by partnering with some of the biggest names in the world, distributing content to homes up and down the country.

For the BBC, we have continued to provide high levels of availability across the 80,000+ radio hours we broadcast each year.

From a project perspective, we completed the repair of the MW towers in Oman and continued the roll out of new FM transmitters across Africa. It was also great to be able to work with BBC Monitoring this year to help enhance their capabilities through an interesting project in Cyprus.


[Nigel] A significant highlight of our year has been the continued growth in the global audience for BBC services. This is the first full year that has included audiences to our new language services and sees a World Service estimated audience of 319 million, with TV up 27 million and audio up 13 million on the previous year. Of particular interest are the television programmes to partners in Africa, reaching nearly 40million people, and the fact that there has been a growth in audiences to shortwave services.

3. How would you describe the current relationship between Encompass Digital Media and the BBC World Service? Which areas would you like to see developed further in future?

[Nick] The relationship remains a strong one. We were pleased to yet again receive such positive scores in the annual survey, but as always we are keen to hear where we can improve as well. The work that International Operations do is becoming more and more critical to the BBC every year, as more and more audience numbers are associated with TV and FM stations in key territories like Africa. Supporting the BBC’s partner sites in all regions has developed well in recent years but there is more that we can do here, specifically around enhanced monitoring to allow us to respond to issues more quickly.

[Nigel] The teams at Encompass and the BBC have worked together for many years with nearly all services delivered consistently and reliably 24/7/365. Consequently, the transactions on which we focus most time are those where we identify scope for improvement. For the past few years, these areas have been the subject of an informal workshop meeting as we work together to find improvements. In the coming year, we will be migrating the Africa satellite from IS10-02 to SES5 in what may, as a consequence of coronavirus, prove to be a very challenging period, requiring the whole team to work closely and collaboratively. We continue to bid for increased levels of funding to ideally allow the rate of refresh of FM transmitters to be increased.

4. With the political uncertainties over the future funding of the BBC in mind, what are the major challenges facing both organisations over the coming 12 months?

[Nick] This report is being prepared during the COVID-19 outbreak and so the second half of this question has to be seen in that context. In terms of funding, it’s clear to anyone who is a fan of the BBC that it is facing a significant political battle in relation to its long-term funding. There is the challenge of how to fund the over-75s licence fee but also a dwindling revenue from the licence fee in general as it goes up against subscription services such as Netflix. The World Service, however, is possibly the UK’s best known and most loved export. It does tremendous things for all kinds of people around the world while continuing to promote the United Kingdom. Hopefully our politicians will realise the benefits a properly-funded World Service can bring in a post-Brexit world and ensure it is suitably funded going forward. The practical challenges facing both of our organisations as we manage our way through the virus will probably be the greatest challenge for the coming 12 months, though.

[Nigel] BBC WS represents an important method by which the UK presents itself to the world. This has increased significance when the UK is outside the EU, and we hope this will be recognised in future funding settlements. That said, in the short term the BBC must continue to

find savings to balance its books. As a major area of spend, the BBC/Encompass contract has to contribute to that process, and we are working closely with Encompass colleagues to identify how we can offer same services more efficiently and return savings to the business in the next two years.

5. How prepared are Encompass and the BBC World Service to respond to increasing consumer demand for content delivered digitally and on demand, rather than the traditional methods of linear broadcasting?

[Nick] Encompass is already delivering content digitally to millions of people on millions of devices every day. We provide live digital services for some leading names in the industry, and this is expanding month by month as more broadcasters align their business models to a digital-type delivery mechanism. As mentioned, we’ve just built one of the largest control rooms in Europe underpinned by state-of-the-art technology, so we are well placed to meet the demands of any audience and any broadcaster, including the BBC, for anything the future has in store.

[Nigel] The BBC already uses a variety of methods of delivery of programmes to partners and of course offers different products for different platforms / different markets, one such being BBC Minute that allows BBC News to find a home on non-speech networks. Linear audiences continue to increase and provide a solid part of our overall audience growth. That said, we are always being challenged and currently have a need to do more to offer soft solutions for very restrictive markets, so that to partners can create ‘receiver/decoders’ that use locally-sourced hardware. We will continue to invest in improvements to monitoring of our FM transmitters. In turn, this will help minimise downtime in markets that have increasing expectations of our services. Improvements in the performance and availability of solar PV systems creates the opportunity to examine whether or not we can convert more of our lower power FM transmitters to be off grid, particularly where the grid supply is unreliable for whatever reason.

A significant highlight of our year has been the continued growth in the global audience for BBC services.


Focus on A’Seela British Eastern Relay Station (BERS)

The BBC World Service has been broadcasting on shortwave from the Sultanate of Oman since 1967, when transmissions came from the BBC’s Eastern Relay station on Masirah Island. A medium wave service was added in 1969 and continued until 2002 when the entire operation moved to a new mainland site on the coast between A’Seela and Al Ashkhara in the South Al Sharqiyah region, some 350km to the south of Oman’s capital, Muscat.

Today, the station’s shortwave and medium wave transmitters relay BBC World Service programmes to the Middle East, north east Africa and south Asia in languages such as Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Dari, English, Farsi, Oromo, Pashto, Somali and Tigrinya.

Construction of the A’Seela station started in 2000. There were no main roads to the site at that time, and it took around five hours to travel by car from Muscat. Since then, road improvements have reduced this to about three hours, but the location has always been difficult to reach. The site tends to be self-sufficient and much of the day-to-day maintenance of the buildings and facilities is carried out by the local staff, as well as attending to the transmitters!

The broadcasting plant consists of three 250kW Thomcast HF (shortwave) transmitters and two 800kW MF (medium wave) transmitters, plus all of the associated control and switching equipment. There are five ‘curtain’ aerial arrays for beaming shortwave transmissions into their intended target areas, plus an 80m high rotatable antenna which gives A’Seela a great deal of flexibility. The medium wave transmitters feed into radiating masts, 102m and 51m high. The site boasts a total of 14 masts plus the rotating structure, although there was originally one more. In 2010, the site was directly in the path of Cyclone Phet, which caused a great deal of damage, including the loss of one mast.

The station is powered by underground cables from the local substation, but the electricity supply to the substation is via overhead power lines which are susceptible to breakdowns due to distance and frequent severe weather. Consequently, there are also two 2.2 MW diesel generators on site, capable of running the transmitters at full load, plus two auxiliary generators to provide power and light for the buildings.


The A’Seela team currently comprises 36 staff – 28 are Omani nationals. The others are expatriate staff from India, Pakistan, Seychelles, Thailand and the UK. The transmitters are covered by a duty operator on shift, supported by technicians who can be called out to attend to faults. The day staff carry out routine maintenance and fault progression on the transmitters and associated control systems. The electrical and mechanical engineering team is supplemented by six Thai riggers for 4-6 months of the year, who carry out a rolling program of mast painting. The desert and proximity to the coast make for a harsh environment – temperatures range from the mid-teens to the high 30s Celsius, combined with humid salty air, strong winds, sand and sulphur in the ground. Corrosion of the metal masts is a continuous challenge. It takes eight years to complete the painting of all the masts, taking into account breaks in transmission which are regularly scheduled to allow this work to take place.

Routine activities include anti-corrosion work on all external metal surfaces and repairing building cracks and concrete base repairs. With two transmitter buildings and a power house with two

generators and high-voltage control equipment, the electrical and mechanical sections are kept very busy! Site security is manned 24 hours a day, and the admin section processes local payroll, arranges deliveries and supplies to the station, and looks after all the necessary permits from the various Omani ministries.

Recent projects at the site have involved major work on the rotator installation, due to severe corrosion on the many of the 32 dipoles on the structure. These were installed in 2012 but cannot be maintained easily at height. To carry out this repair project in a safe manner required removing the dipoles from the structure so that sand blasting, welding and repainting could be carried out. The whole refurbishment has taken around four months as there was a requirement to return the aerial to service before each evening’s transmissions. Despite unseasonable rain and high winds, which restricted working hours and extra work on the supporting arms that were not in the original plan, the project was still completed within ten days of the original timetable.


Much Worse

What is your perception of Encompass’ service improvement?

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Customer Survey 2019 Introduction

The annual Customer Survey is a very important and effective method of gaining a deeper and more detailed understanding of the relationship between the BBC and Encompass. Ever since the early days of the partnership, the annual survey has played a significant role in helping to shape and strengthen the relationship and represents an essential part of the continuous improvement process. The comments and feedback allow an insight to the BBC’s views and feelings, helping us to review and plan improvements to our performance and business processes.

We firmly believe that the best way of delivering exceptional value is to understand our customers’ wants and needs. Then, address these through making improvements to the business and driving service innovation. Effective communication leads to a better understanding of our customers’ requirements, improved business decisions and in turn increased satisfaction levels.

Encompass uses “Smart Survey,” an on-line survey provider, in addition to offering a facilitated workshop. The on-line survey means we are able to reach out to people with whom we may not have regular contact, or who work remotely from the UK, but for whom Encompass still plays

an important part in the day-to-day running of their department and operations. World Service Business Development is a good example. Many members of the team are based overseas and wished to express their opinions but were unable to attend a facilitated workshop in London.

The workshop provides an opportunity for those who work closely with Encompass on a day-to-day basis to expand and elaborate on their feedback, and we know from previous comments how useful this has been.

Once all this data and feedback been sufficiently analysed and summarised, it becomes a valuable source of information for all stakeholders and contributes to a comprehensive overview of the company. Without this perspective, it is difficult to make the best possible decisions in an objective manner.

The ResultsThe graph below left shows how the BBC’s perception of service improvement has changed over the past four years, with the highest ever figure of 96.2% of respondents now perceiving the “same” or “improved” level of service compared to last year (2018 = 95.8%).

The following graph shows how respondents to the survey scored Encompass’ performance in a number of key areas.

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0Understanding the BBC’s business and

challenges

Governance of the contract

Communications Collaboration Reliability Speed of response

Average 2019/20 7.96 7.47 8 7.43 7.88 8.08

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Thinking about those areas with whom you have the most contact, how satisfied are you with Encompass’ professionalism and behaviour in relation to:


The graph below demonstrates the overall average of all survey scores over the past eight years (since the current contract began in 2012). This year, the average of all these scores (7.75) is actually higher than any other previous year.

This year’s results demonstrate our ability to sustain the already high level of satisfaction across many areas. However, there is always room for improvement. During the coming year, our main focus will be to improve our performance in key areas that were highlighted in feedback from this year’s survey, along with those identified in the facilitated workshop. Because of the current restrictions on physical meetings, the workshop this year was a virtual event but maintained its mission to expand on the results of the survey and to ask, “What would need to happen for Encompass to achieve the highest scores in the survey?”.

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02012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20

Average 7.32 6.35 7.52 7.73 7.32 7.44 7.56 7.75

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Overall Average Survey Scores

Customer Service Improvement PlanBy combining the survey scores and comments with feedback from the workshop, we’ve taken the opportunity to explore improvements in the following key areas:

Proactivity We will look at ways to encourage creativity to help the BBC to achieve its aims, even if we cannot fulfil a request directly. Finding solutions to challenging problems or requests may be more expensive than routine work, but it’s recognised that an extraordinary piece of work should be priced accordingly rather than saying no.

Empowerment and speed of response Encompass will strive to improve the perception of speed of response and the feeling that decisions are sometimes achieved more quickly by jumping the chain of command.

Communications Reinforcing the trust that already exists between Encompass and BBC is essential, through maintaining good communications and ensuring that, if any change to the timetable of a deliverable occurs, the BBC is properly informed.

We will look again at the best use of electronic communication platforms such as WhatsApp groups, Lync, Skype, GoToMeeting and Zoom, to achieve the best possible use of collaboration tools, especially at a time when working remotely from the office is a major consideration.

Ownership and accountability The Account Management team will review how the existing ‘ticketing’ facility in Supportworks (Encompass’ service management system) could be used to record and track all BBC requests. Supportworks is already the default method for requesting new services and logging faults, but we will investigate whether the service desk function could be used to improve overall governance and tracking of forward issues.

Collaboration We recoginise the need to make best use of meetings through better preparation and anticipating unusual or cyclical requirements to get ahead of the issues. Asking people to flag issues prior to meetings is recognised as good practice so that we maximise the opportunity to move things forward and do not leave the BBC waiting for answers.

Next steps?The Account Management team will own the improvement plan and share it with the BBC, providing regular updates and highlighting key achievements and milestones against the plan.

We’d like to thank everyone for taking the time to participate in the year’s survey. If you’d like a copy of the full results, please contact us at [email protected].

We have a great relationship with the [Encompass] team - any projects, renewals of licences etc., the team works in partnership with BBC.


keep the satellite in geostationary orbit around the Earth. The satellite delivers BBC radio and TV content to transmitter sites and partner stations throughout Africa, and so presents a significant risk to a massive audience in this region.

The satellite’s operator, Intelsat, plans to extend the life of the craft by launching a Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) which will dock with the satellite in-orbit and provide the necessary propulsion to maintain its position for several more years. It’s a manoeuvre which has never before been undertaken in space and, given the level of uncertainty over the outcome, work is currently underway between BBC and Encompass to mitigate the potential impact by migrating BBC channels to an alternative satellite.

Satellite Operations and Contract ManagementSatellite delivery, either to provide live programme feeds to transmitter sites, partners and re-broadcasters or to reach direct-to-home TV and radio audiences, is a key component of BBC World Service distribution strategy. The BBC uses various geostationary satellites for this purpose, through agreements with a number of international telecommunication providers, satellite owners and operators.

Managing these contracts, and monitoring the day-to-day technical performance of the BBC’s distribution, is the job of Encompass’ Satellite Services Manager, Darren Smalley. Formerly Head of Engineering and Operations at BBC World News, Darren has a wealth of industry knowledge and experience to support the World Service’s satellite operations and ensure that the suppliers of these services meet the technical criteria and availability levels specified in their contracts.

One of the biggest challenges facing broadcasters like the BBC, who make extensive use of satellite capacity for critical transmissions links, is the imminent reduction in available bandwidth at C-band frequencies. The band is popular with broadcasters as it is less prone to weather-related problems (such as ‘rain fade’) and can provide a robust service over a large geographical area (or footprint) using modestly-sized receiver dishes. This compares to higher frequency channels, such as the Ku-band, where satellite dishes are smaller, but much more susceptible to signal degradation due to factors such as heavy rain or snow.

The satellite C-band, however, is regarded with envious eyes. Already, local wireless broadband services (Wi-Fi) are licensed to operate in this band in many countries and parts of the precious bandwidth are ear-marked for 5G services in the future. Telecom regulators and government agencies all over the world are embarking on commercial processes to ‘sell off’ C-band frequencies to the mobile operators, a trend which is going to accelerate with the progression of 5G.

This is a significant challenge for the BBC, and many other users of satellite capacity in C-band, as available frequencies become scarcer and more likely to be interfered with by Wi-Fi and 5G services operating quite legitimately on adjacent frequencies.

Of more immediate concern, however, is the urgent problem faced by the satellites used by World Service for wide-area coverage of Africa and beyond. Intelsat 10-02, launched in June 2004, is reaching the end of its original design life and running low on the rocket fuel used to Photo: Daniel Woolley


The commercial development of consumer DRM radios has been hampered by the cost of production of a relatively low number of units and the power requirements of the DRM chipset inside the radio itself. Over the past 12 months or so, both of these problems have been addressed by research and development teams working in the UK, US and Asia. In the UK, innovation specialist Cambridge Consultants has unveiled a design for a sub-$10 DRM receiver. Still in its prototype stage, the new chipset is both cheap to produce and far less demanding on power supply – an important consideration for DRM radios to be successfully marketed in regions where battery-operated or ‘wind up’ radios are essential features.

Elsewhere, new consumer receiver models, including standalone radios, in-car solutions and adaptors and software defined radios (SDR) from China, India, Germany and the US have been released, all supporting the full DRM features of Journaline (scrolling text, news etc.), EWF (Emergency Warning Functionality) and transmissions in the AM and FM bands.

Encompass and the BBC were founding members of the DRM Consortium (an international not-for-profit organisation composed of broadcasters, network providers, transmitter and receiver manufacturers, universities, broadcasting unions and research institutes) and continue to fully support DRM. As the BBC’s international transmission provider, Encompass was one of the pioneers of DRM technology and has been broadcasting regular digital radio transmissions to Europe and Asia since 2003. Now, with cheaper DRM receivers due to launch this year with much lower power consumption than previous generation devices, the consumer market for DRM is likely to grow even wider and reach new audiences across the globe.

DRM Bringing affordable digital radio to global audiences!

The past year has seen some exciting developments in DRM (Digital Radio Mondial) with the increasing availability of DRM radios in the consumer market. Low-cost, low-power consumption radios are one of the major factors influencing the take up of DRM technology on a global scale.

For broadcasters, DRM is an attractive proposition, enabling operational cost savings through the lower power requirements of DRM transmitters. For the listener, DRM offers excellent “FM-like” sound quality in stereo, even on shortwave and medium wave, plus simultaneous program-related data such as text and pictures, and ease of tuning from a familiar Electronic Program Guide (EPG) display.

The consumer market, however, has been slow to respond. Until recently, only a handful of receivers in the form of portable radios have been available. The exception of course is India, where the adoption and implementation of the DRM digital radio standard represents probably the biggest digital radio roll-out project in the world. Some 600 million people are covered by DRM digital signals using AIR’s 35 MW transmitters and three SW services, and more than 2 million new cars are on the Indian roads today, all equipped with DRM radios which come at no extra cost to the owners.


Looking Ahead Neale Bateman | BBC Account Manager

We’re forever proud to help the BBC reach and expand its global audience in parts of the world where radio coverage has been difficult to achieve, or is restricted by factors that are difficult to control. As we approach the centenary of the world’s first shortwave radio broadcast, virtually the whole world is gripped by a sense of uncertainty and apprehension. One thing is certain, however – the need for fast, reliable, impartial and objective news and information has never been greater.

Quite apart from the unprecedented social and economic circumstances we are currently experiencing (at the time of writing), the BBC is also facing challenges of its own as it heads towards its centenary in 2022. The pressures of future funding, charter renewal and decisions about its future in a multi-media, multi-channel, digital world were always going to make for an uncertain period over the next couple of years.

There’s no doubt, of course, that digital is the future and that new technologies pervade every platform the BBC needs to leverage in order to grow TV and radio audiences around the world. The internet, mobile and connected devices all play an important part in achieving that goal. World 2020’s target was 500 million by this year and the past 12 months has seen many of the deliverables of the programme come to fruition.

Encompass’ International Operations team, working closely with World Service Distribution and Business Development, have enabled numerous new FM and TV partners to launch with BBC content, while major capital projects continue to maintain and improve the BBC’s infrastructure of international sites. From essential work to repair and prolong the life of the high-power medium wave towers on Cyprus, to refurbishing and replacing the BBC’s network of international FM relays, Encompass plays a vital role in keeping the World Service on air.

Encompass is an advocate of all digital technologies and continues to strongly support the development and roll out of DRM. As you will have already read in this review, the increasing availability of low-cost, low-power consumption DRM radios on the consumer market is a major step towards DRM becoming the de facto standard for digital radio at a local, regional, national and international level in more and more countries around the word. Over the coming year, we plan to work closely with the BBC

to modify the high-power medium wave transmitters in Cyprus and Oman to launch new digital radio services for the Arab world, the Middle East, Afghanistan and western India.

Encompass’ acquisition of the former Babcock Media Services business means that the BBC now has immediate access to a much greater range of digital services and expertise, adding TV playout, channel management, video distribution and global connectivity to the existing offering of management of radio transmission assets and international support for the BBC’s partners and re-broadcasters.

Feedback from the recent satisfaction survey, which shows further improvements in the perception of services that Encompass provides to the BBC, also gave us an insight into the challenges being faced in the year ahead. Over the coming months, we’ll be focusing much of our efforts into enhancing your experience of Encompass – improving our customer management processes, streamlining communication and touchpoints across both organisations, and continuing to work more collaboratively to make such a long-standing and successful relationship even better!


NICK THOMPSONManaging Director EMEAHaving previously led the acquisition of Babcock Media Services by Encompass, Nick now heads up the EMEA team. He is responsible for all operations, engineering, customer services and commercial development within the region.

PAUL FIRTHCommercial Director, Radio ServicesPaul has overall responsibility for the operational delivery of the BBC contract, managed through the Broadcast Operations, Projects and Engineering, and Account Management teams, as well as for the commercial development of the Radio services business.

ALAN HUTCHINSONDirector Radio OperationsAlan leads the Radio Operations department, which includes the international transmission sites, the Scheduling and Frequency Management (SFM) team who plan the resources required to deliver the BBC’s short and medium wave broadcasts, as well as International Operations.

NEALE BATEMANBBC Account ManagerWorking alongside World Service Distribution, Neale heads up the Account Management team, responsible for the day-to-day relationship with the BBC, ensuring smooth running of the contract and identifying new opportunities for collaboration and joint initiatives.

ANDREA MADDINBBC Account ExecutiveAndrea provides a first point of contact for all the BBC teams we work closely with, including WS Business Development, making sure that good communications, effective governance and management reporting of the contract is linked with regular liaison with our customers.

The Encompass Team

CHRIS EVANSSenior Projects ManagerChris joined Encompass in early 2020 from a background in Defence Engineering, and leads the Projects team in managing diverse capital projects from civil works on Ascension Island to new Antennas on Cyprus, and FM site projects in Africa.

ADRIAN CONROYInternational Operations ManagerAdrian manages the International Operations team who are responsible for the installation and maintenance of the BBC’s overseas FM relay stations, radio and TV partners, and co-ordinating a network of international contractors.

DARREN SMALLEYSatellite Services ManagerProviding distribution contract management services to WS Group, and maintaining regular contact with the BBC’s satellite providers, Darren also provides expert knowledge and market insight into the satellite communications industry.


Encompass ContactsNick Thompson Managing Director EMEA 07768 608005 [email protected]

Paul Firth Commercial Director Radio Services 07766 314564 [email protected]

Alan Hutchinson Director Radio Operations 07739 955907 [email protected]

Adrian Conroy International Operations Manager 07713 781883 [email protected]

Neale Bateman BBC Account Manager 07748 660194 [email protected]

Andrea Maddin BBC Account Executive 07590 601748 [email protected]

Darren Smalley Satellite Services Manager 07860 833733 [email protected]

Chris Evans Senior Projects Manager 07825 099046 [email protected]

Encompass London LMC (24hrs) 0207 131 6501 [email protected]

Documents

BBC & ENCOMPASS ANNUAL REVIEW 2019 2020€¦ · business with Encompass and more specifically the migration of broadcast facilities from Wyvil Court (Vauxhall) to Encompass’ EMEA