ASEAN targets 2015 for DVB-T adoption

The DVB-T common standard was adopted at the 9th Conference of ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information (AMRI), which concluded 24 May 2007 in Jakarta, Indonesia. But time-frames will differ according to market maturity.

As the most commonly adopted international DTV standard AMRI noted that the DVB-T standard would offer the most advantages in terms of economies of scale, ease of adoption and versatility for multiple platforms. Hence DVB-T was adopted as the ASEAN common digital terrestrial television broadcasting standard. The Philippines is still conducting, testing and consulting on the digital standards.

While some member countries have proposed working towards 2015 as a common switchoff date, this is subject to the ability of individual ASEAN Member Countries given their geographical and human resource challenges.

Detailed policy considerations will be further discussed in planning for Analogue Switch-Off It was also reiterated that further developments in this field must take into account the technical infrastructure of each ASEAN Member Country and the need for ASEAN Member Countries to support each other.

And hosted by Singapore's Media Development Authority (MDA), ASEAN government ministers met end-June 2007 to discuss the roll out of digital broadcasting in the region. Acknowledging that digital broadcasting will usher in a new era of growth and investment in this sector, Ministers welcomed the progress of the ASEAN Digital Broadcasting (ADB) cooperation.

"Riding on ASEAN's integration process, we should also consider how we can further facilitate… collaborations between our media industries," said Dr Tan Chin Nam, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, and Chairman MDA. "The transition to digital broadcasting is expected to usher in a new era of industry growth and foreign investments in ASEAN through increased demand for set-top boxes, television display panels and broadcasting transmission equipment, as well as generate economies of scale for the provision of digital broadcasting technical training. The switch to digital broadcasts - being more efficient in spectrum usage - will also free up scarce radio-frequency spectrum for deployment of new and innovative services such as mobile broadcasting services, additional digital terrestrial channels or HDTV channels, and other interactive digital services," said Tan.

2010 Games are India's goal

Having started the switch from analogue to digital with cable operators in the country's largest cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai – from December 31 2006, India's digital migration is well underway. To speed up the transition, broadcast regulator the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), supported by the judicial and executive branches, has sketched out a fine blueprint for the transition to digital cable operations. The entire switch to digital cable television is set to be completed by the time India hosts the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

"India's expanding middle class, its vibrant Bollywood film industry, and its steady advances in broadcasting technologies are all laying the foundation for the introduction of digital cable television, which will deliver a new freedom of choice for viewers in terms of television channels and content, an enforced truce among broadcasters, MSOs, and cable operators, and reduced fees for subscribers," says Thierry Raymaekers, Managing Director, APAC Marketing, Irdeto BV.

He says the success of any broadcasting (e.g. digital TV) operation depends on two fundamentals: the availability of attractive content (e.g. films, sport and music programs) that subscribers will pay extra to view, and the ability to manage that content as it moves from content owner to broadcaster to MSO to operator to the ultimate subscriber/viewer.

The present practice in India is that the MSO, after buying/ receiving the signals of various channels from different broadcasters, bundles them into a single 'bouquet' and transmits them to individual subscribers' homes through the cable operators, and charges for the entire bundle. However, with the introduction of conditional access following TRAI's mandate, it will be possible for the consumer to decide and choose which channels he wants to view and to pay accordingly.

But Raymaekers cautions that as broadcasters and operators migrate to digital, so will the pirates. Thus he emphasizes the need for strong and reliable content protection technology. "Smaller MSOs and cable operators can start with a more compact conditional access system, and seamlessly expand as the number of subscribers grows," he says.

"In India, as in the rest of the world, the success of digital migration will depend on the introduction of moderately priced, superior and wellbranded set top boxes," says Raymaekers, adding that set-top box technology is constantly evolving to include 'multi-view' models, which allow households with more than one TV set to simultaneously receive different TV shows; 'convergence' models, which can handle digital video broadcasting and IPTV streams; and PVRs, which can record up to 200 hours of digital programs, depending on disk size.

In Pakistan, research by Media Partners Asia estimates that as of end-2006, there were 4.8 million cable TV subscriptions, representing a 38% penetration in homes and pay-TV subscription revenues of US$230 million.

And these revenue figures are set to grow as new developments impact the Pakistan broadcasting landscape. Two operators – Cross Current and ARY Digital – have recently been granted licenses by the government to launch directto- home (DTH) services. This is in addition to commercial DTH services rolled out earlier by stateowned PTV. With DTH, services can be offered to rural areas where there is no infrastructure.

On the broadband front, September 2007 sees state-owned Pakistan Telecommunications Company (PTCL) launching IPTV trials in partnership with content protection company Irdeto and its mainland Chinese equipment manufacturing partner Huawei Technologies. PTCL has plans to offer triple-play services in the near term, bundling voice, telephony, broadband access and IPTV into one package. There are also plans for a mobile television DVB-H trial with a key mobile operator in Pakistan.

Tier-1 telcos calling up regional growth

"We expect the biggest growth within the next 12 months will occur in the IPTV segment with the proliferation of IPTV service expansion around tier-1 telcos," says Tandberg Television's Executive Vice President and General Manager Asia Pacific, Graham Cradock. "There is a drive towards 'any time, any place' TV to meet the consumer's thirst for personalized, entertainment and we are pioneering the technologies that will enable this next generation of television."

Cradock says that MPEG-4 AVC video processing systems, enabling both HD and SD services to roll-out efficiently, are key technologies in the development of the region's digital media infrastructure. With 10 years as the market and technology leader of MPEG compression technologies, Cradock says the company's MPEG-4 AVC solutions have enabled Tandberg TV to win the majority of the recent MPEG- 4 AVC projects across Asia for all types of digital media delivery networks, including IPTV, cable DTH, satellite DTH, as well as the telco and satellite contribution & distributions for these DTH services.

Continues Cradock, "Most, if not all, of our business stems from the digitalization of the service providers' networks, including telcos, satellite operators, cable operators, terrestrial broadcasters, and mobile operators.Early customers in Asia were predominantly satellite-based and the evolution we have seen is the emergence of new market entrants such as telcos coming into the television sector. Our business has also grown as our customers have grown and expanded their services. Our ongoing development of new, more efficient technologies has seen us recently upgrade many of our early customers who adopted

MPEG-2 compression during the 1990s… we can (now) enable these customers to provide more channels and new services such as HDTV and VOD over their existing networks."

New licences to broadcast, the emergence of next generation interactive services and deregulation in certain markets will help fuel further digitalization of the region's digital media infrastructure. Cradock says Tandberg TV sees particular growth potential in China, Korea and Taiwan.

"From a technology stand point, mobile TV deployment will occur throughout Asia. There are many competing technologies, such as DVB-H/SH, MBMS, MediaFlo, T-DMB, S-DMB, ISDB-T, etc. After a series of trials, some will prevail over others and we also expect to see hybrid systems which combine broadcast and telco standards, such as DVB-H and 3G, to enable feature rich live and on-demand mobile TV offerings," he concludes.

BT sells off satellites, expands IP networks

Having sold off its satellite broadcast business, BT has its sights firmly set on expanding its media network in the Asia Pacific region.

End March 2007, saw BT conclude a 25million GBP (US$50 million) cash deal with UK-HQ'd Arqiva – including long-term customer contracts, operations and personnel - expanding Arqiva's physical presence across mainland Europe and into the US.

And the funds received for the satellite sell-off are being pumped into BT's Asia Pacific operations. BT is developing solutions specifically for the media and broadcast industry and it is expanding its media network in the Asia Pacific region. As part of the $48 million investment for APAC, BT is extending its services to more places in 2007, including Beijing, Dubai, Mumbai, Shanghai and Tokyo.

Most recently, BT's Media and Broadcast sector inked an agreement with India's largest private broadcaster of news and current affairs television, New Delhi Television (NDTV) to be its global network supplier, enabling them to distribute to BSkyB and Direct TV in the UK and US respectively. BT will carry the live NDTV news bulletins to multiple platforms on its network.

Deepakjit Singh Chatrath, General Manager, Client Management Asia Pacific and EMEA, BT, said, "We are indeed excited about fuelling a certain part of NDTV's global growth plans. This is indeed an excellent opportunity for BT to showcase its network especially in terms of resiliency, security and a round the clock global service. We are confident of building this relationship as a benchmark for today's broadcast industry."

BT presently downlinks the signal from the PAS 10 satellite, and then carries it over its Media-IP network to BSkyB's platform. This also includes bringing the signal to the BT Tower and making it fit for the U.S. viewer and then transporting the signal to the Direct TV platform in Los Angeles for it to be broadcast over the Direct TV's US platform.

Saying its Media & Broadcast Media-IP network is the only IP network which can connect the customer to multiple platforms across many countries without getting out of the network, BT now has 14 customers in APAC, and covers major media hubs in North America and Europe, where the likes of ITV, Hallmark and TF1 are customers.

Because, according to Chatrath, the possibilities are much greater than just the delivery of Indian broadcasters, like NDTV, to Europe and the US. He says the network effectively enables the outsourcing (akin to telephone call-centres and IT support) of tasks to more cost efficient markets.

Microsoft eyes Internet TV and IPTV

Having already teamed with Accenture and Avanade to build an integrated broadcast system for MediaCorp, Microsoft Corp. is looking at other similar opportunities in the region.

Microsoft has provided a software solution to help streamline many of MediaCorp's core business processes, including program planning, scheduling, airtime sales and finance processes, into one integrated system. "MediaCorp's business lies in the successful management, distribution and consumption of content," said Maria Martinez, Corporate Vice President of the Communications Sector at Microsoft. "As the world's first terrestrial broadcaster to adopt the Connected Services Framework, MediaCorp is helping to demonstrate Microsoft's knowledge of the key business drivers in the broadcast industry and, more important, how to translate that knowledge into solutions that enable broadcasters to work efficiently, increase revenues, and expand and retain audiences."

More recently Microsoft Korea, SBSi (the digital media subsidiary of the Seoul Broadcasting System) and KT agreed to jointly develop a pilot global media hub (GMH) business, providing digital content intermediary, trade and delivery services. The GMH is an integrated platform where a wide variety of media from all over the world can gather together on a single platform, and where SPs can provide diversified services based on the platform infrastructure and the extensive media content available through the GMH.

Microsoft Korea, SBSi and KT are co-operating to promote the digital content and value chain infrastructure of networks, devices and solutions, and exploring new business opportunities by closely linking together content providers, service providers and global software companies.

"Through this GMH business, we intend to offer higher quality services to both Koreans overseas and global citizens by providing content services to portals overseas – the services are only provided to Korean portals currently," said Namki Lee, President & CEO of SBSi. "This is a significant business endeavor as, if it successfully secures wide recognition in the global market, content providers including SBSi would be naturally able to expand their presence into markets overseas."

Dr. Kilho Song, Vice President of KT Future Technology Laboratory, said, "Anyone who has good content can provide unique services and do business based on the GMH that not only offers a platform but also solutions supporting a wide variety of value-added services. With the GMH, Korean contentand service-providers can offer Korean content services to Korean and international consumers and, at the same time, providers from a third party market can also service consumers all over the world."

The first GMH-based pilot service launched August 2007 to premium hotel rooms and broadcasting operators in the South East Asian markets where the so-called 'Korean Wave' or 'Hallyu' content is in high demand. Through this pilot service, the three parties will jointly assess the feasibility and emerging business opportunities of the GMH business.

"There is a continued appetite for such collaborations," explains Dene Schonknecht, Global Industry Manager of the Communications Sector's Media & Entertainment Group. "Online delivery of content needs aggregation for formatting and distribution."

Schonknecht heads the Group responsible for developing strategy, driving sales and creating solutions specifically for broadcast, film, music, publishing and advertising. These include Microsoft Interactive Media Manager, a digital content management and collaboration solution which helps companies connect the systems for creating, managing, and delivering content.

And from a different Microsoft division came the news that Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel), was to launch the first commercial deployment of its Mediaroom IPTV and multimedia platform in Asia.

SingTel's mio TV service, announced 20.07 2007, launched in August, is being powered by Microsoft Mediaroom, the latest update to Microsoft's Internet Protocol television (IPTV) software platform. Mediaroom is an endto- end IPTV and multimedia platform that enables broadband service providers to deliver personal media sharing, standard- and high-definition live TV channels, advanced VOD and DVR, and new connected entertainment experiences.

"We needed a carrier-grade, endto- end TV platform that is easy to integrate into our Generation mio service strategy. We also wanted innovative capabilities that will breathe new life into the next generation television," said Allen Lew, CEO Singapore, SingTel. "We chose Microsoft Mediaroom as it drives new connected entertainment, which allows us to use the television as an access point for multiple customer experiences."

"Microsoft is committed to helping SingTel unlock the potential of television and deliver the very best TV and connected entertainment experiences available," said Enrique Rodriguez, Corporate Vice President of the Microsoft TV business at Microsoft. "SingTel has set the industry standard for advanced digital TV in this region, and we look forward to working closely together to enable this promising technology to reach its full potential and become the centerpiece in the connected home of tomorrow."

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