EBU strategy for broadcasttelecommunications convergence

1
EBU strategy for broadcast/telecommunications
convergence

• Franc Kozamernik
• European Broadcasting Union

2
Agenda

• EBU in the nutshell
• Broadcast vs. telecom
• Possible synergies of broadcasting,
  telecommunications and internet
• Possible scenarios
• Conclusions

3
European Broadcasting Union - EBU

• The EBU is the largest professional association
  of national broadcasters in the world
• Founded in 1950. Merged with OIRT in 1993.
• 69 active members in Europe, North Africa and
  Middle East and further 45 associate members
• Eurovision and Euroradio satellite/terrestrial
  networks
• Programming, legal and technical activities

4
Broadcasting vs. Telecoms

• Both broadcasting and telecommunications are
  important industries and both are playing their
  respective role in our societies.
• Both are mature industries and both have been
  highly successful, since several decades, in
  terms of building up
• a large consumer base,
• huge turnouts,
• large numbers of radio/TV receivers and telecom
  terminals used,
• extensive infrastructures
• large numbers of workers

5
Broadcasting vs. Telecoms

• In the past, they have been evolving separately
  in different directions as two entirely different
  entities.
• Since last two decades, both industries made
  significant progress in adopting digital
  technologies.
• More recently, they embarked into packet-based
  technologies and the development of multimedia
  services and applications with the following
  common features
• increased mobility,
• geographical and time independence,
• individualisation and personalisation,
• Interactive and on-demand services,
• better technical quality and increased security

6
Broadcasting vs. Telecoms

• It is important to understand the differences
  between these separate industries
• Telecoms is mainly one-to-one
• Broadcasting is mainly one-to-many - All users
  tuned to a given channel receive the same content
  
• From the all-important perspective of users
• Both models will continue to be needed for
  different types of services and applications
• Both models have advantages and disadvantages

7
Broadcasting vs. Telecoms

• Economists designate free-to-air broadcasting as
  a public good because the marginal cost of
  extra viewers or listeners is zero
• Telecoms operators get more revenue as the use of
  their networks increases
• Broadcasters are mainly interested in content
• Delivery technologies are incidental to them
• Telecoms operators are mainly interested in
  delivery systems
• Content is incidental, but will become more
  important as the impetus for new services

8
Multimedia convergence at different levels
Broadcaster
Service provision
Internet / Telecom Provider
Broadcast Network
Internet
Core transport
Core Network IP, ATM, SDH, WDM
Node
Headend
POTS ISDN xDSL fibre GSM GPRS UMTS
Access
HFC LMDS
User Terminal
9
Broadcasters

• Sound radio and television are the most important
  mass media and play a major and irreplaceable
  part in the lives of the people
• Radio is simple, ubiquitous, free service,
  non-expensive receivers, mobile and portable,
  user-friendly, informative and trusted medium
• Television is more sophisticated, used in the
  home/family, provides entertainment, information
  and education
• Both radio and TV are in the process of radical
  changes and move towards digitisation and
  multimedia

10
Content

• The choice of TV services available to the
  average consumer has increased dramatically, but
  expenditure on new programmes has not kept pace
  with this expansion
• Traditional broadcast services (i.e. one-to-many
  one-way) will continue to be important because
  mass audiences are required to cover the costs of
  high quality content production
• Broadcasters will also embrace the opportunities
  offered by multimedia services and applications,
  including interactive and on-demand services
• Users will transform themselves from passive
  consumers to active creators able to choose the
  content and presentation to their liking

11
Broadcast Delivery

• Broadcasters (content providers) will probably
  become agnostic about delivery systems
• The existing analogue terrestrial transmissions
  will remain attractive because they are almost
  universally available
• Radio broadcasters can choose from
• AM
• FM
• DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting)
• Internet its successors

12
TV Delivery Systems

• TV broadcasters will choose from
• analogue terrestrial
• analogue satellite
• digital satellite (DVB-S)
• digital terrestrial (DVB-T)
• digital cable (DVB-C)
• digital MMDS (DVB-MC DVB-MS)
• Internet and its successors
• UMTS or GPRS
• broadband radio services (BRAN, MBS)

13
Digital Audio Broadcasting - DAB

• Eureka 147 DAB system, first shown publicly in
  1988 in Geneva Recommended by ITU-R as a a
  worldwide standard
• Terrestrial system using OFDM modulation, very
  robust, 1.5 Mbs channel, audio and data
  (multimedia) services
• 300 million people in 25 countries worldwide are
  within DAB reach
• Coverage in the UK is 79 of the population
• 509 different DAB services are available 225
  PSB, 284 CS
• 25 manufacturers are making 16 different types of
  consumer products car, home, portable radios
  and PC cards
• Prices to fall by 50 or more (to 99) by end of
  2001!

14
Digital Video Broadcasting - DVB

• Family of DVB standards based on ISO MPEG-2
  Satellite, Cable, Terrestrial and MMDS
• De facto worldwide standard, flexible, robust,
  different bit rates and channels
• Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) paves the way to
  multimedia
• 7 million BSkyB and 1 million OnDigital
  set-top-boxes in the UK
• In UK, STB are given away for free different
  business model than for DAB
• Terrestrial DVB is bogged down by the spectrum
  scarcity in Europe

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EBU Statement on DAB versus DVB-T

• DAB is to serve radio communities
• DVB-T is to serve television communities
• Similar technologies (OFDM)
• Different emphasis but complementary systems
• Both are needed and both should be deployed
• DVB-T cannot replace DAB, even not in a longer
  term
• DVB-T is able to carry radio services but this
  may represent only a minority market
• Both systems will be used for mobile Multimedia
  in future

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Digital radio Mondiale - DRM

• DRM is being developed to replace analogue LW, MF
  and SW radio below 30 MHz
• Designed as a flexible system able to overcome
  adverse propagation conditions deep and long
  fades, echoes and multipath
• A variety of audio and channel coding options and
  modulation schemes to copy with different channel
  bandwidth requirements

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Broadcasting to Mobile and Portable terminals
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UMTS
Stationary
2 Mb/s
Pedestrian
384 kb/s
Mobile
144 kb/s
Bit rate (kb/s)
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UMTS and other radio technologies
DVB cable
PSTN
xDSL
Stationary
ISDN
UMTS
DVB satellite
Pedestrian
GPRS
Mobile
DVB terrestrial
DAB
GSM
Bit rate (kb/s)
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Analogue-to-digital transition

• Digital technology must be significantly better
  in any respect than analogue radio for all
  players, especially for consumers
• An agreed introduction strategy and
  concerted/synchronous efforts of all major
  players at a national level
• public service and commercial broadcasters
• new content providers
• receiver/transmitter/IC manufacturers
• network operators
• spectrum regulators
• retailers
• users customer awareness
• Public and governmental support is absolutely
  needed

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A national matter

• Each and every country in Europe has very
  specific economic, cultural and media regulation
  situation
• Broadcasting (and electronic media) is a matter
  of national states or even regions (e.g. Germany)
• Any implementation plan and analogue switch-off
  strategy should take into account national
  broadcasting diversities and national priorities
• International organisations and associations such
  as EBU are valuable but cannot replace national
  efforts and decisions. They should however
  provide common technology standards,
  implementation guidelines, lobbying, promotion
  and advice

22
Governmental decision

• Digital may take several years to reach the level
  of the present analogue broadcasting
• Transition to digital may be much slower than
  expected unless there is a concerted effort at a
  a national level
• Broadcasting will ultimately become digital, but
  at what stage the analogue stations may be
  withdrawn?
• As the transition is a costly exercise, small and
  commercial stations may remain on analogue for
  very long
• A governmental announcement of the analogue
  withdrawal deadline at an early stage would have
  a positive effect

23
Analogue Switch-Off

• A timely announcement of Analogue Switch-Off
  (ASO) by the national government will have the
  following advantages
• A CLEAR SIGNAL TO ALL PLAYERS about the
  intentions of the government and will accelerate
  A-D transition
• NETWORK PROVIDERS - will reduce transmission cost
  which is now doubled due to simulcasting in
  analogue and digital. More money will be
  available for the completion of terrestrial
  networks
• ADMINISTRATIONS/REGULATORS - will be able to use
  parts of the analogue spectrum soon after ASO
• CUSTOMERS - will be encouraged to purchase
  digital STBs as of now
• MANUFACTURERS - will sell more digital products
  and the prices would go gradually down, diversity
  of receivers will increase

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Interactive Multimedia Broadcasting

• LEVEL 1 LOCAL INTERACTIVITY - storage in the
  terminal (e.g. TV Anytime)
• LEVEL 2 ONE-WAY RETURN CHANNEL
• LEVEL 3 TWO-WAY INTERACTIVE CHANNEL

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LEVEL 1 Interactive Broadcasting

• No return link needed
• Internal storage device in the user terminal to
  allow
• linear programmes to be consumed in a non-linear
  manner (e.g. a news bulletin)
• users to order a programme to be recorded by a
  single click during a trailer
• intelligent agents to record programmes that they
  think you might want to listen to
• sophisticated interactive multimedia information
  services, continuously up-dated and available
  instantly to consumers
• automatic indexing of recorded programmes
• Examples TV Anytime Project, TiVo

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LEVEL 2 Interactive Broadcasting

• Interactive Broadcasts can be further enhanced by
  the use of a narrow-band return channel (e.g.
  GSM, GPRS, UMTS, Internet)
• DAB or DVB-T can be used as forward transport
  media in connection with return channel
• Return channel connects the end user with the
  content originator
• content provider
• service provider
• multiplex provider
• Supplementary individually addressed traffic
• Possibility for secure encryption or charging
  mechanisms

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LEVEL 3 Interactive Broadcasting

• LEVEL 3 allows for PERSONAL BROADCASTING
• DAB or DVB-T used as transport medium for
  broadcast and individually addressed traffic in
  connection with an interactive channel (e. g.
  PSTN, GSM, GPRS, UMTS, Internet)
• Highly assymetric services
• Requires roaming/handover network functionalities
• Requires secure encryption and charging
  mechanisms
• A WorldDAB project DAB/Mobile using SIM and
  Java card for transactions will start in the
  autumn
• Joint UMTS Forum / DVB Forum group (see TM 2466)

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Scenario 1 Integration at the terminal level
DTV
DxB TX
Broadcaster(s)
Mux
DVB-T
Mobile terminal
Data carrousel
UMTS/UTRA
DVB or UMTS
Base Station
Mobile Operator
ISP
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Scenario 2 IP services on co-ordinated UMTS and
DVB networks
DTV
DxB TX
Broadcaster
Mux
DVB-T
Mobile terminal
Data carrousel/ multicasting
UMTS/UTRA
DVB or UMTS
Base Station
Mobile Operator
ISP
30
Scenario 3 UMTS as an interaction channel
DTV
DxB TX
Broadcaster
Mux
DVB-T
Mobile terminal
Data carrousel/ multicasting
ITV RC
UMTS/UTRA
DVB or UMTS
Base Station
Mobile Operator
ISP
31
Scenario 4 Delivery of DVB TV over UMTS
Broadcaster
UMTS terminal
DTV
B-UMTS BS
UMTS/UTRA
Base Station
Mobile Operator
ISP
TV on demand
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Scenario 5 UMTS network with an integrated DVB-T
downlink
Mobile terminal
DVB-T
DVB-T TX
Data carrousel/ multicasting
UMTS/UTRA
Base Station
Mobile Operator
ISP
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Broadcast Multimedia Services

• News and sport
• Weather
• Special events
• Polling and voting
• Tell me more
• Infoseek
• Travel information
• Traffic information
• Navigation
• Internet access

• EPG
• Near video-on-demand
• Games
• Oriented advertisment
• Home shopping
• Electronic banking
• Mobile office
• Education
• Interactive training
• Handicap support

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IP over broadcast channels

• DAB and DVB broadcast channels have relatively
  large bandwidth but for regulatory reasons only
  a small portion (typically, less than 20) can be
  used for data services such as IP multimedia
• Access to web pages via broadcast channels is
  fast and reliable
• Broadcasters may adopt a concept of a Walled
  garden
• Pre-selection of Web pages limits the usefulness
  of this service compared with full Internet
  access. Broadcaster decides on a selection of
  best sites and transmits the same sites to all
  customers
• Customers can browse locally between the sites
  chosen by the broadcaster.
• Interaction channel is provided by a
  telecommunication channel

35
Push Technology

• Push technology is similar to broadcasting - one
  to many
• Multimedia files are pushed from a broadcaster as
  e-mails to the subscriber computers (typically
  several hundreds only)
• different from broadcasting is that users can
  only receive their narrowcast information
  according to their individual user profile
• Push services delivered over the Internet
  allow users to specify their interests
• news items about specific subjects, share prices
  for a particular company, etc.
• The users computer periodically checks if any
  relevant new information is available, and
  downloads it for display
• The number of subscribers could increase if
  dial-up connections are replaced by fast
  Internet broadcast channels

36
Webcasting

• Broadcasting over the internet - complementary to
  conventional over-air broadcasting
• Continuous live streaming
• On demand streaming
• On demand downloading
• Global access, full interactivity, personal
  filters, niche themes, audience monitoring
• Poor technical quality, but HOW POOR ?
• Compression schemes
• Network bandwidth, packet loss, jitter

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Possible areas of common interest

• Common receiver/terminal (human-machine
  interface)
• Portable/personal terminal (possibly integrated
  with a PDA)
• Common API protocols, interfaces and metadata
• Common networks and roaming strategies
• Common billing/security/transactional models
• Common IP technology for multimedia

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Conclusion

• There are opportunities for broadcast and
  telecommunications to work together
• Synergy of the two platforms can strengthen both
  and enable new services and applications to
  develop
• UMTS should preferably be used for individual
  communication
• Broadcast channels are suited for high bitrate
  media distribution to large audiences
• Several scenarios for practical cooperation are
  possible
• Joint development and market activities are
  necessary to futher the business opportunities.

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Conclusion

• In future broadcasters will probably become
  agnostic about delivery systems - they will use
  any broadcast or non-broadcast channel if it
  offers clear advantages for their audiences
• Broadcasters will use a variety of receiver
  terminals to reach their audiences
• Broadcasters will focus on
• the provision of rich content,
• increase diversity of programme choice
• develop attractive data/multimedia applications
• interactive broadcasting services