Business

Friday September 25, 2009

Digital TV – the sooner the better for the country

Friday Reflections - A weekly column by B.K. Sidhu


DIGITAL TV from all electronic media players in the country by 2015?

But are we anywhere near the starting point? Not really, but the lobbyists are certainly at work.

This is big business and several parties are interested.

Telekom Malaysia Bhd and Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) have indicated interest.

It is learnt that even Puncak Semangat Sdn Bhd, a company linked to Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary, is also keen on it.

To be in the digital era by 2015, there is a need to start shifting now from the current analogue system to digital.

This means a UHF spectrum is needed while a single digital terrestrial transmission/TV broadcast (DTTB) infrastructure, which includes a multiplexer, needs to be built.

A multiplexer is a technique that combines all TV signals from different sources or stations and transmits it on a single-frequency channel for reception by TV viewers.

In the digital mode, one frequency channel can be “squeezed” to take on and transmit between six to eight digital stations/programmes whereas in the analogue, one frequency channel is for one TV programme.

So in the future, all TV stations will rent space from one source to transmit their channels. They do not have to invest in infrastructure, they only pay rental for the lease of space.

Currently, TV broadcasters have their own equipment and transmission sites to transmit their programmes.

The industry’s regulator said in April that it would call for a tender bid in the third quarter of this year but we are nearing the end of the third quarter and there seems to be no word of a tender coming out.

The regulator has given its recommendations to the Information, Communication and Culture Ministry.

Granted there is a new minister and the ministry needs some time to work on this, but the question is how long?

As has been said, whatever the way forward, the country should move on and not delay the migration to digital TV any longer.

The early adopters of digital TV are Sweden, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, which have all switched off their analogue systems.

Britain was the first to migrate in 1998 and will switch off its analogue system by 2012.

If Malaysia does not start the process soon, the transition period from analogue to digital will be short, and it could easily become a dumping ground for analogue TV sets.

If we move faster, the bonus is that we could have more TV programmes and potentially see more players and this could lead to greater competition and choices for consumers.

The main consideration, however, is that whoever is given the rights for the migration to digital TV should be a neutral party and be subject to thorough regulatory measures, so that the services offered are competitive and affordable.

If this is done properly, it will open up new markets in digital broadcasting and broadband, as well as new studios and production techniques.

The potential spillover business is enormous. A thriving industry will also, hopefully, keep our creative minds within the country.

But a monopoly must be avoided at all costs. There should be a tender bid and a transparent tender process.

No party should be given the rights without a tender being called, as was the case in the high-speed broadband project.

Perhaps all the broadcasters should get together to build the infrastructure so that they will have equal rights.

l B.K. Sidhu is deputy news editor and she cannot wait to buy a high-definition TV set.

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