Third digital plan revision

Third digital plan revision

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has made a third revision of its radio-frequency master plan draft for digital TV.

The revised master plan will be put forward in April for public hearings.

This newest version is aimed at serving the broadcasting industry when the simulcast period for analogue TV stations ends this year.

At that time, digital TV network providers should have expanded their network coverage in line with NBTC requirements and improved all problems regarding poor signals, an NBTC source said yesterday.

Many viewers, even in places already under network coverage, have complained of unclear digital signals.

On the other hand, digital network providers have been dealing with many technical problems that have delayed their network expansions.

This latest revision of the draft contains three major changes.

First, each digital TV network will see its number of support stations rise to 132 from 114, while the number of main stations will be maintained at 39.

The increase of support stations will help to solve the problem of poor signal transmission in some remote areas.

The four network providers are MCOT, Thai PBS, Channel 5 and the Public Relations Department.

NBTC member Supinya Klangnarong said overall, digital network expansion plans were making good progress, particularly those of Thai PBS.

MCOT is moving forward with its equipment procurement for network expansion and is expected to meet NBTC requirements by May.

However, the Public Relations Department has not shown any progress. The NBTC board has levied a fine against the department, which is appealing the penalty.

Second, the NBTC will now also require each network provider to use the same site to install network equipment, as this will improve signal transmission and reduce investment costs.

And third, each provider will have a two-year installation plan for the 39 main stations, while installation of support stations can be divided into three phases — 45 in the first phase, 38 more in the second, resulting in 90% coverage nationwide, and the final 49 in the third for 95% coverage.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT