Next year, Colombia is set to be the first country in Latin America to go on air with a DVB-T2 TV network. The network will use R&S THU9 high-power transmitters from Rohde & Schwarz.

The Consorcio Canales Nacionales Privados (CCNP) is responsible for introducing digital broadcasting to Colombia's private broadcasters. In 2010, upon introducing DVB-T, the consortium consisting of the private operators Caracol TV and RCN TV decided in favor of 24 transmitters from the Rohde & Schwarz R&S NV8600 family. These transmitters will gradually be updated to DVB-T2 in the coming months to deliver a digital signal to 25% of the population.

During the next phase, eight more transmitter stations will be set up in major cities, providing 50% of Colombians with access to the new broadcasting network. The project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2012. Broadcasting is set to begin on January 1, 2013.

On 14 June in his budget speech to the Kenyan Government, the finance minister, Njeru Githae, announced the removal of import duty on digital set-top boxes to reduce the cost of migrating from analogue to digital TV broadcasting. The move will further boost the migration to digital and provide more opportunity for investors in the sector.  

"The Government has taken this opportunity to remove import duty on decoders to allow Kenyans to easily move to digital viewing and avoid further delays that might bar us from beating the 2015 target set for the global migration," said Finance Minister Njeru Githae in his 2012/13 Budget speech.

Kenya began its transition to digital back in 2009 with DVB-T and in 2011 decided to migrate to DVB-T2 to take advantage of the technological advancements offered by the second-generation standard.

Digital TV signals are already on air in Nairobi and its environs, and are expected to be accessible in other major towns in the country before the close of the year. The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) had earlier advised vendors to cease importation of DVB-T set-top boxes and published the minimum technical requirements of a DVB-T2 set-top box for the Kenyan market. Equipment suppliers and vendors were advised to obtain type approval of the set-top boxes from the CCK in line with the Kenya Communications (Amendment) Act No.1 of 2009. The CCK publishes a list of approved DVB-T2 set-top boxes for sale in the country. Authorized vendors/dealers of set-top boxes are required to display, at the point of sale, a valid vendor authorization and the type of approval certificate issued by the Commission.

Consumers have been encouraged to be aware of the new DVB-T2 standard and therefore purchase set-top boxes that are compatible with the new platform.

The Media Development Authority has announced that Singapore's free-to-air TV channels will go fully digital by the end of 2013 using DVB-T2.

With Singapore's migration to digital TV, free-to-air broadcaster MediaCorp will transmit all of its seven free-to-air channels digitally by end 2013. Channels 5, 8, Suria and Vasantham will be available in High Definition by end 2013. The remaining three channels - okto, Channel U and Channel NewsAsia will first be broadcast in Standard Definition from end 2013, before being broadcast in High Definition in 2016.

"The world is switching from analogue to digital TV broadcasting as digital TV not only offers better image and sound quality, but also frees up scarce spectrum for other services, such as wireless broadband," said Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Dr Yaacob Ibrahim at the opening ceremony of Infocomm Media Business Exchange (imbX) on 19 June 2012.

The adoption of the DVB-T2 standard comes after a successful trial conducted last year with MediaCorp and pay-TV operator StarHub. The trial, which involved some 500 households in Ang Mo Kio and Bedok housing estates, showed that DVB-T2 was suitable for deployment in Singapore's urbanised environment.

To ensure a smooth switchover, there will be a simulcast period, where both digital and analog free-to-air television signals will be broadcast to ensure all households have time to get accustomed to receiving their free-to-air TV signals digitally. Singapore will complete the switchover from analogue to digital broadcasting by 2020, in line with ASEAN's agreed timeframe for making the switch.

Does terrestrial television broadcasting have a future?  

Many European broadcasters are worried. At the WRC-12 international conference in February this year a large slice (the '700MHz band') of spectrum used for television broadcasting in the analog age was also assigned from 2015 in Europe to 'wireless broadband services'. This has set European broadcasters on edge about their future. Pearse O'Donohue (pictured), Head of Radio Spectrum Policy Unit, European Commission, who manages the Radio Spectrum Policy Group, addressing the EBU Technical Assembly in Zagreb earlier this month, offered some comfort.

"Terrestrial television broadcasting would only be superseded by a wireless broadband system if an equally efficient and free media delivery means were available to the citizen" , O'Donohue explained. He also stressed that the current stage is one of discussion about options. He pointed out that there were four things that could be done with the 700MHz band: use it all for broadcasting, use it all for broadband, share the spectrum between broadcasting and broadband, or develop a 'converged' system that does both. The next stage is to discuss these four options with the whole industry - including the EBU.

He asked the EBU and its members to be innovative, and to bear in mind the great potential value to society of wireless broadband. But one thing he asked broadcasters to remember is "sticking your head in the sand is not a good strategy".

Source: EBU