Television is enjoyed by billions of people around the world, but viewers in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Central Asia (known as Region 1 at ITU) will soon be able to access a range of new services and programming thanks to the ‘digital switchover’. Bassil Zoubi is a career Engineer who has worked in the broadcast industry for decades and he shares with us why he believes this migration to digital television is important and looks at the wide-ranging impact it can have.
For consumers, the means of watching television (TV) is simple and has remained largely unchanged since the 1950s: push a button and news from around the world, memorable storylines and images of far-flung places are beamed directly to you. Yet behind the scenes, television is a complicated affair. Working as Head of Maintenance Engineer at Jordan Radio and Television Corporation until 1994, I have fond memories of rooms full of canisters of film, the whirring of video tape machines, towering transmitters with complicated wiring, and expansive audio consoles all working to air the programme schedule that was planned weeks before transmission. Yet, television is evolving as we move towards the digital era, and most of the equipment that I used is now obsolete.
This shift towards digital broadcast means that consumers can enjoy a wider variety of shows on multiple channels with a better quality of broadcast. It also facilitates reduced power and energy consumption, and spectrum efficiency which brings a host of associated benefits for consumers and broadcasters. But this shift from analogue to digital broadcasting also brings its own set of challenges.
Working as Head of the Terrestrial Transmission Department at Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU), I help to support the wide array of stakeholders involved, from stations to engineers and end-users, to ensure a smooth transition to digital broadcasting for the Arab region.
Digital Switchover
On 16 June 2006, a treaty agreement was signed at the conclusion of ITU’s Regional Radiocommunication Conference (RRC-06) in Geneva, heralding the development of ‘all-digital’ terrestrial broadcast services for sound and television. The digitalization of broadcasting in Europe, Africa, Middle East and the Islamic Republic of Iran by a target date of 17 June 2015 represents a major milestone towards establishing a more equitable, just and people-centred Information Society connecting the unconnected in underserved and remote communities and closing the digital divide. The new digital GE06 Plan provides not only new possibilities for structured development of digital terrestrial broadcasting but also sufficient flexibilities for adaptation to the changing telecommunication environment.
Digital Dividend vs. Digital Switchover
The ‘digital switchover’ is the name given to the process of changing from analogue to digital TV broadcasting.
Many people today will be familiar with analogue broadcasting – having a restricted choice of programming due to limited space for channels; having to tune the TV to your region to ensure that you could pick up broadcasts; having to play with the antennae to get a smooth, uninterrupted signal – but as we move towards all things digital, this means of broadcast is becoming redundant.
With the advance of digital technology, we are now able to broadcast more efficiently in comparison to analogue. Firstly, analogue television broadcasts occupies a large amount of spectrum, a finite natural resource and the electro-magnetic ‘channel’ over which programming travels. Where a single analogue program can be broadcast on one transmission channel of 6 MHz to 8 MHz bandwidth, the same transmission channel could carry a multiplex of up to 20 digital programmes of equivalent quality. And, as spectrum is a limited resource, this is a valuable saving. The spectrum that is now being freed up as a result of the switchover is known as the ‘digital dividend’.
What is digital broadcasting and what advantages does it offer over analogue?
The term ‘digital broadcasting’ is a catch-all term for the use of electrical signals for broadcasting that are a sequence of ‘discrete numbers’. Analogue broadcasting uses electrical signals that vary in a ‘continuous way’. The shift from analogue to digital is an inevitable one that has taken place in virtually all electronic systems over the past decades. Digital signals are much more flexible, can be squeezed into smaller spaces, and open up many more opportunities than analogue signals. The case for making the transition is as self-evident and beneficial as was changing transport from horses to motor cars. The change could bring a great deal more channels for viewers, the option of higher quality images, multimedia, and more involving and inclusive television.
ASBU Role: Making the Switch
Broadcast transmissions involve many players in the chain – content producers, chain programmers, point-to-point links (e.g. between the studio and the transmitter station), manufacturers and end users. Consequently, a lot of investment, both in terms of money and time, is needed to facilitate the switchover.
While I believe that the existing infrastructure should be used to the largest extent possible, nearly 87 million households in the Arab Region will need new equipment, and thousands of stations will need to be renewed or replaced. Therefore, the transition to digital broadcasting will require a long harmonisation process, but in order to go smoothly, it must involve all stakeholders as well as the media, telecommunication and frequency regulators and national legislators.
Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) is key in bringing these players together and facilitating the digital switchover in the Arab region; we help to organize and coordinate the exchange of information and provide technical assistance to our members to ensure their smooth and harmonious operation. As part of this service, we have issued many studies and recommendations to help our members understand the advantages of digital transmission. We have conducted technology studies and investigated how the transition fits into our area, the best time for implementation and how to handle the challenges related to the digital switchover in the region.
Another key component of our role in the digital switchover in the Arab region is to help consumers understand how the change will affect them, and what benefits they can expect to enjoy once the switchover is complete. We have set up a hotline for assistance.
Most countries in the Arab region will not meet the 17 June 2015 deadline for the digital switchover. However, Tunisia, Bahrain, Algeria, Morocco, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have shown strong leadership in the transition.
Global Status of DTTB
The ITU maintains a portal that provides information on the status of the deployment of Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting (DTTB), worldwide. It includes:
The status of DTT deployment and digital switchover, with related links (using available data listed under Source of Information)
Links to different ITU workshops and other related activities; also to technical assistance to different countries on that matter (when publically available)
Useful documents and websites related to the transition to DTT
This portal can be helpful to various stakeholders in planning their future activities in this context.
Given the dynamically changing status of DTT deployment, administrations are invited to check the data and make necessary update
The countries and their status:
Completed
Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Rep., Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea (Rep. of), Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Rwanda (Republic of), Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican.
On-going
Albania, Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Colombia, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dem. Rep. of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mexico, Myanmar, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, Seychelles, South Sudan, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Not Started
Armenia, Bangladesh, Belize, Central African Rep., Comoros (Union of the), Egypt, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Turkey.
Unknown
Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Dem. People’s Rep. of Korea, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Rep., Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lao P.D.R., Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Micronesia, Nauru, Nepal (Republic of), Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Niue, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, State of Palestine, Syria, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen