DIGITAL ALBANIA

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DIGITAL ALBANIA A HARD CHALLENGE




Beograd 27-30 April 2009
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Albania Audiovisual Landscape

• Public audiovisual sector
• The public sector is run by the RTSH (Albanian
  Radio-Television).
• Public television includes
• 1 national television network  TVSh (Analogue
  terrestrial)
• 3 regional television networks (Analogue
  Terrestrial)
• Public Radio includes
• 2 national stations (FM)
• 3 regional stations (FM)
• 1 satellite program

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Albania Audiovisual Landscape

• Private audiovisual sector
• Radio
• 2 national radios FM (Top Albania Radio and 2
  Radio)
• 53 local radios (FM)
• Television
• 3 general national television networks Klan TV,
  TV Arbëria and Top Channel (Analogue Terrestrial)
• 73 regional or local television networks (1 town
  up to 4 districts) of which 3 are news channels
  (Analogue Terrestrial)
• 44 cable networks, and
• 4 satelite networks (ALSAT, DIGITALB, Supersport,
  Tring).

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Current digital networks

• DIGITALB DVB-T
• - Operates without a license Since July 2004.
• - Uses 4 frequencies over almost one third
  of the territory for broadcasting
• 38 programs. (9 to 10 programs per MUX,
  while the average number of
• programs is 5 to 7 channels
• - The number of subscribers is not known,
  however it is bigger than 100
• 000 households.
• - Decoders are locked for the frequencies
  other than the frequencies used by
• DIGITALB.
• - The frequencies used from DIGITALB are not
  respecting the Frequency Plan
• GE06 D
• DIGITALB MOBILE DVB-H
• DIGITALB does also broadcast, without a
  license, 16 personal mobile television channels
  (DVB-H norm) in an anologue frequency, which can
  be received by mobile phone (brand LG model KU
  950), being sold by DIGITALB for 350 .
• TRING DVB-T
• Broadcasts a package of programs from Dajti
  site only using one frequency within the
  Frequency Plan
• GE 06 D

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Current digital networks

• DIGITALB
• COVERAGE

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Current digital networks
DIGITALB 2. ORG. SCHEEM
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Current digital networks
DIGITALB MOBILE COVERAGE
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Current digital networks
TRING COVERAGE
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CURRENT SITUATION ON DIGITAL BROADCASTING
SHIJAK TV COVERAGE
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Licensing digital networks

• One of the priority objectives of NCRT for the
  year 2008 was the licensing of
• the first digital operators
• - The parliamentary Resolution forcing the
  licensing of unlicensed
• operators
• - In an not fully completed legal framework
• - The switch over strategy not defined
• In the November 2008,The NCRT announced the
  organization of the public competition of
  candidatures for licenses to build and operate 3
  private national digital terrestrial networks.
  (Council Decision nr.726, date
• 08.09.2008 About the organization of the
  competition of the candidatures for private
  operators of national digital terrestrial
  networks
• The deadline for presenting and the opening of
  applications, was set the date 24.11.2008.
• There were 10 applicants registered
• With the request of the candidates, the date of
  the competition was postponed a couple of times.
  
• In the last date, 21.01.2009, the competition
  failed, because none of the candidates were
  present.

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Licensing digital networksConclusions

• Reasons of failure to license digital networks
• Lack of a well defined legal framework
• Lack of an approved strategy
• High financial requirements (Euro 10 000 000 of
  assets, 10 warranty, Yearly fee, Auction, etc)
• The cooperation between operators and service and
  content providers, unclear
• Refusal to introduce MPEG 4 instead of existing
  MPEG 2
• The hope of decoder subsidizing from the state
• 2009 is the electoral year and it is not expected
  a relevant intervention to bring the situation
  under the law framework

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Legal reform in the media field

• The legal reform in the media field was initiated
  by the Assembly, during 2008, with the drafting
  of a new law, aiming the improvement of the legal
  framework and bringing the media-related Albanian
  legislation in line with the standards and best
  practices of European countries.
• NCRT, as one of the stakeholders, has presented
  its proposals for the draft law. One of the main
  proposals of NCRT is to merge in one the two
  actual laws, namely No 8410 On public and
  private radio and television and 9742 On
  digital broadcasting.
• In December 2007, the Assembly approved the draft
  laws On ratification of Final Acts of Regional
  Radio communication Conference for planning of
  the digital terrestrial broadcasting service in
  parts of regions 1 and 3, in the frequency bands
  174-230MHz and 470-862 MHz (RRC-06), and On
  ratification of Final Acts of Regional Radio
  communication Conference for the revision of the
  Stockholm 1961 Agreement. Ratification of these
  acts paves the way for the implementation of
  digital broadcasting in Albania.
• NCRT has approved a Regulation on the licensing
  of digital broadcasting, in April 2008. However,
  in order to start procedures for the licensing of
  the first terrestrial digital operators, in
  addition to this Regulation is also necessary the
  conclusion of the Strategy for the transition to
  digital broadcastings, which, in meantime, is in
  the drafting process.

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Digital networks characteristics
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Digital networks characteristics
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Rezultatet e konferences
GE 06 D Plan for Albania
Main Characteristics for DVB-T 1.Network Type
SFN 2. System Variant C2 - Modulation
Type 64 QAM - Guard Interval ¼ 3.
Reference Network RN2
Service Area Diameter
30- 40 km 4. Reception type
Mobile 5. Raster for DVB-T in Band III 7 MHz
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Kapacitetet Transmetues
GE 06 D Plan for Albania
Transmission Capacities
Digital broadcastings in Band III 174-230 MHz T-
DAB and DVB-T
DVB- T
T- DAB
T- DAB
Blloqet e frekuencave per allotmentet t-dab vhf
GE06 D Plan For ALBANIA
T-DAB Sub Allotment In Tirana City
8 DVB-T Allotments (VHF)
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Kapacitetet transmetues
GE 06 D Plan for Albania
Transmission Capacities
Digital broadcastings in Band IV and V 470 - 862
MHz DVB-T
GE06 D Plan For ALBANIA
11 DVB-T Allotments (VHF)
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GE 06 D Plan for Albania
Assignments
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COVERAGE
CALCULATION OF COVERAGE National Digital
Terrestrial TV Network NR-001K
Venia ne pune e stacioneve transmetuese do te
behet konform procedurave te nenit 5 te akteve
finale te marreveshjes GE-06.
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Kapacitetet Transmetues
GE 06 D Plan for Albania
FREQUENCES
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Strategy for conversion to digital broadcasting

• NCRT has initiated the process of preparing a
  draft-strategy aiming to ensure a sustainable
  transfer from analogue to digital broadcasting.
  In realizing this process, the NCRT is working in
  close cooperation with the OSCE presence in
  Albania.
• In the framework of this cooperation, an expert
  from the CSA, France, has evaluated the Albanian
  audio-visual sector and produced a report
  stressing the main issues to be addressed in
  order to have a well-defined strategy.
•  
• The key conclusion of the report is that, the
  ambitious project of transfer to digital
  broadcasting introduces the need for cooperative
  relations between the NCRT and the interested
  groups, operators in particular. European
  experience shows that the harmonic transfer to
  digital broadcasting requires a broad consensus
  between the involved parties, especially during
  the process of approval of a strategy of common
  interest.
• Task Force

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Strategy for conversion to digital broadcasting

• For this purpose, NCRT has organized, during the
  period April June 2008, and December 2008 a
  number of local and national conferences , by
  inviting all the stakeholders, private operators,
  state institutions and international
  organizations, to share with NCRT their comments
  and opinions concerning with transition to
  digital system.
• After accomplishment of the consultation process,
  NCRT has already finished the first draft, which
  is submitted to all state institutions and other
  stakeholders concerned with.
• The draft proposes the measures to be taken to
  insure the transition to full digital
  broadcasting within 2012, as the law in force
  provides.

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Strategy for conversion to digital broadcasting
NETWORK OPERATOR CLASSIFICATION
Spare 1 National Coverage and some local
coverages
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Strategy for conversion to digital broadcasting
DIGITAL CAPACITIES NEEDED TO SUPPORT EXISTING
ANALOG NETWORKS
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Strategy for conversion to digital broadcasting
INVESTMENT ASSESMENT
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Strategy for conversion to digital broadcasting
INVESTMENT ASSESMENT
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Strategy for conversion to digital broadcasting
KOSTOT E PERAFERTA
Investment for the construction of the network
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Strategy for conversion to digital broadcasting
KOSTOT E PERAFERTA
Needs for decoders
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Strategy for conversion to digital broadcasting
Decoder subsidies evaluation
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Strategy for conversion to digitalbroadcasting
Digital islands
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Strategy for conversion to digital broadcasting
Digital islands
Building the Local Platforms
Idea Current analogue operators will be
authorized to build 1local digital network
without going through the competition process.
Advantages - Immediate migration of existing
analogue programs in the digital
platforms. - The costs of building and
maintenance are shared. - The spare (not used)
capacity can be commonly utilized to ensure
supplementary income Disadvantages -
Requires an agreement between the participants.
- Not all existing operators might be capable
to afford their share of investments.
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Strategy for conversion to digital broadcasting
Digital islands
Building the Local Platforms
Alternatives 1. Middle-term soft loan
guaranteed by the state for all
shareholders. 2. Shareholders which can
afford the costs agree to cover the costs for
the shareholder which can not, provided
that the later pays a reasonable
yearly fee and is exempted from the common mux
exploitation. 3. If the deal
between the participants its not achieved, the
competition for the selection of
the operator of the local network will be
organized. 4. The State build the network and
the program operators use it against a
yearly payment controlled by the Regulatory
Authority. 5. Partial or full subsidizing
(according to the approved standards) by the
Development fund of.
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Strategy for conversion to digital broadcasting
Digital islands
Building the Local Platforms
Current analogue operators are authorized to
build 1 local network (continued)
Implementation of this version requires -
Law amendment to avoid the competition procedure
of the candidatures for license of local network
operator (for local platforms only). - New
License Regulation which obliges the current
analogue operators to continue to broadcast their
programs free to air after migration to digital
platforms. - Specialized enterprise for
building and operation of the networks for
audiovisual broadcast. - Decoder Subsidizing
from the state.
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Strategy for conversion to digital broadcasting
The creation of the Digital Development Fund

• It will have a temporary duration until 2012
• Conditions
• - It will serve to support the building of
  local digital networks, to sustain
• current analogue programs that will
  continue to broadcast free to air.
• - There will be no subsidies for program
  operators.
• - After the 2012 there will be no need for
  subsidies to avoid the
• deformation of the audiovisual market,
  already established.

The fund will be created 1. By a part of the
payment from licensing of audiovisual operators
(Network Op, program and services Op) 2. Funds
from the State budget. 3. Donations