Caribbean States Continue Digital Switch-Over Talks

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Tuesday, 14 August 2012 02:30

By caribarena news

Antigua St. john's - Antigua & Barbuda and other regional states are pushing ahead with work on a harmonised approach to completely switch from analog to digital broadcasting by the final deadline of 2015.

The issues surrounding the transition are being thrashed out at a three-day forum at the Grand Royal Antiguan Resort in the capital organised by the Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU), the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA) and the Caribbean Telecommunication's Union (CTU).

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"I understand that by the end of 2013, if not by the end of 2015, analog-free-to-air signals will be switched off and replaced with digital-only signals," Minister of Telecommunications and Broadcasting Dr. Edmond Mansoor told the forum.

"We in the Caribbean will obviously need to move to digital TV to improve the viewing experience, keep up to date with technology and to free up broadcast space for other innovative services like high-speed mobile broadband."

With the country having a 92 per cent cable television penetration rate, the minister assured that the change will not affect subscribers.

Countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands and Sweden are said to be in the process or have already made the switch.

Minister Mansoor said the demand for broadcast space would be exacerbated by the likely commissioning in the first quarter of next year of 4G LTE technology by two additional telecommunications companies.

"New and stronger digital TV signals will be available and high-definition channels will become more widely available," he stressed.

"If we surrender this spectrum and make it available to ubiquitous type services, we would be able to use a smaller portion of the spectrum and offer a wider range of services."

He urged those gathered to come up with a "Caribbean-specific solution" that would take into account issues such as population size.

He added: "Subject to all the technical information that I have available to me … there are no known health risks specific to digital television."

This is the fourth such event for the year on this issue involving the CTU.

Representative Nigel Cassimire, a telecommunications specialist, said they are seeking to develop a regional policy framework by the first quarter of next year to facilitate the switchover.

The importance of a harmonised approach was explained by Pham Hai, head of broadcasting at the International Telecommunications Union.



In his view, this would bring spectrum efficiency, minimise interference and facilitate the change.

Stakeholders, he added, should be involved and resources sourced.

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