DTT transition period in Slovenia Current status

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DTT transition period in Slovenia Current status
lessons learned

• mag. Miha Krielj

Medunarodna konferencija STRATEGIJA PRELASKA NA
DIGITALNO EMITOVANJE U BiH Sarajevo 22. maj 2008
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Content

• Facts Figures
• Regulatory milestones
• Implementation process
• Difficulties
• Regulatory remedies
• Additional programmes for the 1st multiplex
• Public tender for the operator of the 2nd
  multiplex
• Situation on the MPEG-4 Set Top Box market
• Current situation

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Digital Terrestrial Frequency Plan (SLO)

• 8 layers with national/regional coverage
• In some parts of the country more frequencies
  will be available (the Capital city Ljubljana and
  the West part of the country)

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Slovenia TV Facts

• 2 million inhabitants
• 680 000 TV households
• 25 of TV households receiving TV over the air
• More than 60 TV channels (terrestrial and cable)
• 3 nationwide public TV channels (SLO1, SLO2,
  SLO3)
• 3 nationwide commercial TV channels (POP TV,
  Kanal A, TV3)
• 14 local/regional TV channels using terrestrial
  frequencies

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TV platforms

• While we are trying to put in operation the DTT
  platform, some other TV platforms in Slovenia are
  developing quickly
• Rapid growth of IPTV penetration
• Introduction of DTH platform which competes for
  the same audience as DTT (in rural areas)
• Penetration of different
• TV platforms in Slovenia.
• Source AGB Media Research, 2008
• basic research carried out
• by GFK Slovenia

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Content

• Facts Figures
• Regulatory milestones
• Decision on DVB-T implementation strategy
• Implementation process
• Difficulties
• Regulatory remedies
• Additional programmes for the 1st multiplex
• Public tender for the operator of the 2nd
  multiplex
• Situation on the MPEG-4 Set Top Box market
• Current situation

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Regulatory Milestones

• Mass Media Act (2001, 2006)
• Electronic Communications Act (2004, 2006)
• National Strategy on the Transition from Analogue
  to Digital Broadcasting (beginning of 2006)
• Gaining 8 muxes at the RRC 2006 (mid 2006)
• Setting MPEG-4 Part 10 for the obligatory AVC
  standard (end of 2006)
• Frequencies for the 1st national DTT network
  issued (beginning of 2007)

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Regulatory Milestones

• Temporary division of 1st national multiplex (mid
  2007)
• Scanning interest in 2nd national DTT network
  (mid 07)
• First digital programme licenses issued (end
  2007)
• Digital Broadcasting Act (end of 2007)
• Preparing a public tender for 2nd national
  network / multiplex (currently in the process)
• Preparing a public tender for digital programme
  licenses (currently in the process)

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DSO according to the Law

• Region by region principle
• Simulcasting officially starts when a 90 DTT
  coverage in a region is achieved (at least 1 mux)
• Two official dates
• The last day for starting simulcasting period is
  1 June 2009.
• The switch off date has been set for 31 December
  2010.
• Obligatory PSB coverage at the switch-off date
  min 95 of the territory

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Digital Broadcasting Act

• Article 15.
• Public broadcaster should provide the capacity in
  the 1st multiplex for (other) TV programmes
  holding the national licenses (if only one
  multiplex existing)
• If there is only one multiplex operating
  nationwide, the public broadcaster could get the
  license for the next multiplex only when no other
  applicants are identified.
• Article 29.
• The Agency should issue digital licenses for all
  programmes holding analogue licenses, 6 months
  after the Act will be accepted. In cases where
  the equilibrium of analog and digital coverage
  can not be achieved, the Agency allocates bigger
  coverage.
• The simulcasting period starts when at east one
  multiplex is covering at least 90 population
  and when all TV stations on this geographical
  area have a possibility to be a part of digital
  multipleks.
• Even if the previous condition is not achieved,
  the simulcasting period starts on 1.6.2009 at the
  latest.

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Electronic Communications Act (2004, 2006)

• Article 56a (Law on e-communications) essentially
  changes the digital broadcasting frequencies
  assignment procedure
• Broadcasting Council is no more asked for the
  opinion on the spectrum allocation table
• To assign a broadcasting frequency, the public
  tender is not obligatory. The procedure is the
  same as in the case of assigning the frequencies
  for the radio communication networks.
• There are no programme conditions associated with
  the digital broadcasting frequencies
• The Broadcasting Council does not suggest to whom
  the digital frequency shall be assigned
• There is no reimbursement fee in exchange for
  using the scarce public resource

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Content

• Facts Figures
• Regulatory milestones
• Decision on DVB-T implementation strategy
• Implementation process
• Difficulties
• Regulatory remedies
• Additional programmes for the 1st multiplex
• Public tender for the operator of the 2nd
  multiplex
• Situation on the MPEG-4 Set Top Box market
• Current situation

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Decision on DVB-T strategy

• The delay in implementation of DVB-T can be used
  as an opportunity (no legacy systems or networks)
• Dilemma on MPEG-4 solved
• Better spectrum utilization
• Opportunity for implementing HDTV in the future
• Media legislation
• Amended Law on electronic communications
• Amended Mass media law
• New draft Digital broadcasting law
• (Can we use cable like content regulation on
  DVB-T networks?)

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Regulatory challenges

• In trying to establish DTT platform in the
  Slovenian (small and under-diversified) TV
  market, the crucial regulatory questions are
• How to create a favourable regulatory environment
  to attract potential operators, willing to invest
  in the Slovenian DTT networks?
• What kind of TV offer would be most suitable to
  fill the vast capacity of first two national
  multiplexes?
• How could we make people interested in DTT?
• How to assure the future existence of local (now
  analogue) TV channels?

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Opportunities

• As a small country with considerably high
  penetration of cable and other non-terrestrial
  platforms, Slovenia could be a country with
  rather simple switchover process.
• However, the transition from analogue to digital
  reception of TV channels should not be the only
  goal of the DSO process.
• By determining MPEG-4 for the obligatory AVC
  standard, Slovenia decided both for more
  efficient use of spectrum and for more diverse
  choice of high quality TV services (new services
  and HDTV)

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Content

• Facts Figures
• Regulatory milestones
• Decision on DVB-T implementation strategy
• Implementation process
• Difficulties
• Regulatory remedies
• Additional programmes for the 1st multiplex
• Public tender for the operator of the 2nd
  multiplex
• Situation on the MPEG-4 Set Top Box market
• Current situation

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Current DTT Coverage

• More than 60 of the Slovenian population covered

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3rd DVB-T multiplex

• Commitment to HDTV
• Strong commitment to HDTV programming by Public
  and Commercial TV stations
• In order to maintain the idea of reasonable high
  number of terrestrial digital TV programmes,
  third network with reduced coverage will be
  introduced

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Multiplex A (RTV Slovenija)

• PSB TV channels 3 national, 2 regional
  (occupying 4 places)
• Commercial TV channels 3 national (min 40
  coverage ATT)

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Multiplex B (planned)

• Planned model
• But.. not enough legal certainty
• Article 133 of the Mass Media Act envisaged a
  penalty provision for operators of DTT networks,
  which would eventually disseminate a TV service
  without the so called digital programme license,
  stipulated under Article 104a

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2 Tenders Needed to Put in Operation Mux B

• The only way to establish the 2nd national
  multiplex is through two separate public tenders
• one for selecting the network operator,
• the other one for granting digital programme
  licenses.
• The operator, once chosen through the tender,
  will have to build the national network and put
  multiplex in operation by transmitting the TV
  channels with digital programme licenses.

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Content

• Facts Figures
• Forthcoming legislation
• Decision on DVB-T implementation strategy
• Implementation process
• Difficulties
• Regulatory remedies
• Additional programmes for the 1st multiplex
• Public tender for the operator of the 2nd
  multiplex
• Situation on the MPEG-4 Set Top Box market
• Current situation

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Selection of TV channels for mux B

• could be a problem
• The price of mux operators services could be
  around 450.000 per TV channel per year, which
  is an expense that an average Slovenian TV
  broadcaster can not afford to pay in the
  transition period.

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The reasons of slow take-off
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Content

• Facts Figures
• Forthcoming legislation
• Decision on DVB-T implementation strategy
• Implementation process
• Difficulties
• Regulatory remedies
• Additional programmes for the 1st multiplex
• Public tender for the operator of the 2nd
  multiplex
• Situation on the MPEG-4 Set Top Box market
• Current situation

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Regulatory measures that followed

• APEK started negotiation process with Public
  broadcaster to divide 1st multiplex
• 4/7 will be used for public programmes
• 3/7 will be used for commercial TV programmes
  with national programming strategy
• On 17th Avgust APEK issued public appeal for
  scanning the interest in frequencies for 2nd
  national multiplex
• 4 operators have expressed the interest therefore
  the public tender will be published
• APEK will publish an appeal to assign small local
  digital frequencies to the local broadcasters

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Public inquiry on 2.multiplex

• On 17th of August APEK took a decision to issue a
  public appeal to examine the interest on building
  a 2nd DVB-T multiplex.
• 3 frequencies for 3 SFN networks
• East channel 67
• Center channel 64
• West channel 66
• Coding standard ITU-T H.264 (MPEG-4 Part 10).
• Network parameters must enable net bit rate of 22
  Mbit/s
• Minimal coverage dynamics
• 1st year 40 of population
• 2nd year 60 of population
• 3rd year 80 of population
• 4th year 90 of population

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Content

• Facts Figures
• Forthcoming legislation
• Decision on DVB-T implementation strategy
• Implementation process
• Difficulties
• Regulatory remedies
• Additional programmes for the 1st multiplex
• Public tender for the operator of the 2nd
  multiplex
• Situation on the MPEG-4 Set Top Box market
• Current situation

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STB Specification test results
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STB situation on the market
Mercator je v brouri "Tehnika" objavil prodajo
Iskrinega MPEG-4 DVB-T sprejemnika DVB-T4000 (SD
HD). Na voljo je v Hipermarketih Ljubljana,
Maribor, Maribor Pobreje, Nova Gorica, Celje,
Koper, Kranj Primskovo in v M Centrih tehnike.
Cena za sprejemnik je 149,90 EUR.
                                                  
       Vir Mercatorjeva broura "Tehnika"
(ponudba za cas od 10.4. do 7.5.2008)
Denis Re Mercator zacel ponujati Iskrin MPEG-4
DVB-T sprejemnik DVB-T4000 12.04.2008 0147
Datum registracije 5 tednov nazaj Sporocil
2 Lep pozdrav vsem na forumu. Zakaj pa so sploh
testirali sprejemnike, ce se potem v trgovinah
pojavijo neki drugi ki sploh niso bli testirani ?
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Content

• Facts Figures
• Forthcoming legislation
• Decision on DVB-T implementation strategy
• Implementation process
• Difficulties
• Regulatory remedies
• Additional programmes for the 1st multiplex
• Public tender for the operator of the 2nd
  multiplex
• Situation on the MPEG-4 Set Top Box market
• Current situation

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Current situation

• Solving a dispute between PSB acting as a SMP on
  the market 18 and the holders of the digital
  licences (POP TV, Kanal A and TV3)
• Publishing two public tenders for the 2nd
  multiplex (one for the operator and one for the
  programmes)
• Decision on two HDTV multiplexes in the capital
  city