On 30 June this year, Australia will become the first Asia Pacific nation to commence shutting down analogue television signals. All eyes will undoubtedly be focused on the Mildura/Sunraysia region in the south–eastern corner of the country; breaths will be held as circuit–breakers are de– activated and switches flicked. This momentous occasion comes almost a decade after the first digital terrestrial television broadcast (DTTB) services were launched in Australia on 1 January 2001. In that time, Broadcast Australia has deployed around 600 DTTB services in a nationwide digitisation project that provides television transmission services for Australia’s two national broadcasters and facilities for several commercial stations. Aside from the hefty costs associated with simulcasting, the major driver for closing down analogue services is the lure of liberated spectrum. Across the globe, as in Australia, the upper portion of the UHF band (>700MHz) is being earmarked for the latest wireless communications services – whether mobile broadband, mobile TV or enhanced DTTB services such as three– dimensional television (3D TV). In particular, the phenomenal growth of mobile wireless broadband services, driven largely by popular consumer devices such as the Apple iPhone and netbook computers, is placing extra pressure on finding new spectrum. The advent of 3D TV – which will also require additional spectrum to be allocated – is also highlighting the need to decommission analogue and shuffle spectrum as quickly as possible. Mind the gaps Analogue switch–off in Australia is intended to take place over three and a half years, during which period Broadcast Australia will shutdown analogue television services at many hundreds of sites across the country. Mildura will be the first in June, and a useful test case; December will then see 17 sites in regional South Australia (plus Broken Hill) switched over to digital–only, followed by regional Victoria in the first half of 2011, and so on until the last analogue services in Australia are turned off in December 2013. In conjunction with this closure of analogue services and the associated ‘digital switchover’ (DSO), the government and broadcasters alike are making sure that digital coverage is extended into all areas that are known to be digital ‘black spots’. As their name suggests, black spots are coverage gaps in the digital signal due to various factors, among them spectrum scarcity and the well– documented cliff effect exhibited by digital signals. The results of a 2009 Broadcast Australia study revealed that in the state of Victoria alone, there are more than 30 existing so–called analogue ‘self help’ sites that could be upgraded to digital, leaving some 17 additional sites that would still be required to fill gaps in digital coverage using terrestrial broadcasting. It will rarely be possible or practical, however, to service 100 percent of a population terrestrially, leading to various proposed hybrid coverage models – where terrestrial coverage is supplemented by blanket satellite coverage as a safety net. This type of model was ultimately selected by the Australian Government to address black spots, although the exact balance of terrestrial and satellite is not finalised. Terrestrial services present the best outcome for the consumer, as they allow localised content, along with lower cost and performance benefits. Analogue abandoned While digital coverage is bolstered on the one hand, careful attention must also be paid to the decommissioning of analogue television services during the DSO. Broadcast Australia will be shutting down analogue television services on behalf of both national broadcasters at Mildura, and has undertaken extensive preparations to ensure that this will be executed smoothly and with zero impact to existing services broadcast from the site (mainly digital television and FM radio). The existing site infrastructure has been analysed in terms of re– balancing three–phase mains power supplies and forced air cooling systems to facilitate smooth sailing on 30 June. Plans are also well underway for the next sites to be targeted. Each and every transmission site is unique and has its own challenges – such as different levels of accessibility and infrastructure complexity. Sites therefore need to be considered on a case by case basis to establish the procedures required for a smooth – and safe – shutdown of analogue television services and decommissioning of equipment. The use of a consistent evaluation methodology, leading to the development of an individual scope of work to be undertaken for each site, will help to streamline this huge logistical exercise. In addition to engineering activities, Broadcast Australia’s Network Operations Centre (NOC) will handle all the communications associated with switch–off, including changes in telemetry configuration, updating of status within the network management system, and remote termination of services in specific cases. Managing the digital switchover across the whole of Australia is a massive undertaking and involves multiple dedicated teams and an enormous amount of planning – both to ensure potential digital coverage issues are addressed and analogue services are decommissioned without event. It follows that with an enlightened spectrum plan, the resulting digital dividend will pave the way for the latest wireless communications and broadcast services for Australia.
Ad – Before Content
Related Articles
- QYOU Media India collaborates with Toonz Media to launch Q Toonz
- Insight TV partners with China’s CGTN and JOIIN on Sweet Planet series
- Golden Boy renewed for Season 3, now sold to over 120 territories worldwide
- Tiny Desk Concerts Come to NHK WORLD-JAPAN
- BBC Strikes Deal with Amazon Music to Bring BBC Podcasts to Amazon Music Listeners Globally for the First Time
- AIB members elect new Executive Committee