As Digital Switch Over in Europe proceeds, generally without hiccups, the battlelines are being drawn betweenbroadcasters and multimedia operators over the use of spectrum. Europe continues to lead the world in the switch over to digital television.By the end of 2011 DTT should be well advanced across the European Union and the 2012 EU directive for switch-off is expected to be met by almost all member states.
Europe continues to lead the world in the switch over to digital television.By the end of 2011 DTT should be well advanced across the European Union and the 2012 EU directive for switch-off is expected to be met by almost all member states.
Bolder regions which jumped into transitionfirst are already planning their next network upgrades for HD, 3D and connected TV, however they face dealing with a legacy of hardware that will soon be obsolete. Some operators are lagging behind, struggling with the cost implications of DSO in an already squeezed sector where it is difficult to get financial backing.
Analogue switch-off (ASO) has already been completed in 13 countries, with Malta next in line on June 1 2011. AnalystsHIS Screen Digest predict that by the end of 2011 all Western European countries will have DTT coverage above 90%, most towards 98%.
The picture in Eastern Europe is more mixed. Croatia has already completed ASO with coverage above 90% whereas others, such as Serbia, are yet to launch any DTT service.
Despite an official 2011 ASO and a €93.2 million investment in creating a DTT network, Hungary’s national transmission company Antenna Hungária is likely to miss that date (possibly by three years, say analysts Futuresource).
According to DigiTAG those countries that have not yet launched DTT (including Ireland, Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Montenegro) also have question marks against the 2012 deadline.
“Themost serious work needs to be done in Romania and Bulgaria,” says Screen Digest analyst Guy Bisson. “Bulgaria is launching in 2011 but with a planned ASO of 2015, and Romania is yet to launch a DTT service and has a planned ASO of 2015. Poland and Greece are also scheduled to miss the EU ASO 2013 mandate.”
Some mature markets are now building business cases to upgrade their digital networks to include DVB-T2. The main driver is HD and pay-TV, where markets are looking to maximise opportunities for savings and coverage, without causing too much resentment with the public about a double switchover.
For other nations the delay in choosing technologies for DTT has been beneficial, enabling them to select DVB-T2 system and immediately eliminate the legacy of DVB-T. They have also been able to save significantly on bandwidth or infrastructure for coverage.
To date DVB-T2 services have been used to launch HD services in the UK, Italy and Finland.The UK’s Freeview HD service based on MPEG-4 DVB-T2 had reached approx 640,000 homes at the end of 2010, representing 6% of total Freeview homes (Futuresource). Indeed transmission networks services company Arqiva has already begun trialing 3D over the UK’s DTT network.
In Scandinavia, Sweden’s nationwide DVB-T2 network aims to reach over 98% by the Olympics 2012.Austria, Norway and Germany are conducting DVB-T2 trials. Outside of Europe, India and South Africa have adopted the DVB-T2 standard for their initial roll-outs and Russia is looking at it too.
As DSO proceeds it is opening up critical spectrum bandwidth, raising new business opportunities but also the prospect of a hotly contended tussle between mobile operators and traditional broadcasters.
Eleven EU states have so far decided to release the 800mhz band for non-broadcast services with auction for spectrum already decided in Sweden and Germany. In both the countries the allocation was taken by the largest incumbent phone operators in (TeliaSonera, Hi3G and Net4Mobility in Sweden / O2, Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile in Germany).
An IBC2011 Conference technical session will address this issue head on. It will assess the economic and social impacts of DTT to date and question whether the platform is being threatened by 4G mobile services. What chance is there that regulators can persuade broadcasters to use less spectrum and to share the resource with new multimedia operators?
This comprehensive technical and business overview lays the groundwork for what will be one of the most hotly debated issues over the next few years.
For more information on the IBC, go to www.ibc.org
