Are distribution costs really linearly related to transmitter powers?
All of the above analysis draws on the assumption suggested in the “Broadcasting to Handhelds” EBU Technical Review article that transmission costs are linearly-related to total transmitter powers. At medium transmitter power levels this is likely to be a fair assumption, because, for example, if you buy two transmitters that have the same power rating then you can expect to pay double what you’d pay for one (ignoring discounts). But at very low (and very high) transmitter power levels the relationship is likely to become non-linear. For example, at very low transmitter power levels the cost of the equipment and installation costs will be disproportionate to the actual power level, and the distribution costs will be higher than that predicted by a linear relationship. At very high transmitter powers the cost of the transmitter and installation costs will likely not be double that of a transmitter half its power, and a linear relationship would overestimate the distribution costs. There
