Migration to Digital
The phased introduction of digital broadcasting services and the ultimate transition to an all-digital environment requires careful planning and consideration. Some of the key challenges and issues to be address in the preparation for digital broadcasting are highlighted below.
Challenges in going digital
The key challenges in introducing digital services are:
| Capital Funding |
Getting on air at minimum cost whilst optimising the return on investment; |
| Operating Costs |
Maintaining reliable service delivery and quality of service; and |
| Skills |
Digital implementation is skills intensive; developing the appropriate skills base, often in a short timeframe. The skill set can also have a major impact on capital and operating costs. |
Key phases in going digital
In order to successfully introduce digital services, careful attention needs to be given to the four key phases of: planning, design, build and operations. Digital implementation is a complex exercise and failing to get it right first time can be very costly and time consuming.
Planning Phase:
Meticulous planning will save time and money, reducing the risk of unforseen delays, poor quality of service and the need for significant troubleshooting. Key issues to be considered are:-
- Use of Single Frequency Networks (SFNs) can provide a spectrally efficient solution, but are complex in planning and design;
- Capacity of existing infrastructure needs to be assessed including: mast/tower structural loading capacity, antenna system bandwidth and voltage ratings, combiners, mains power and environmental management system capacity
- Future requirements need to be accommodated – for example additional multiplexes in a subsequent roll-out phase;
- Careful consideration of knock-on implications and make sure these are included in the implementation plan; and
- Access to sophisticated coverage prediction tools is essential. Some modification to existing analogue channel plans may be necessary in order to optimise spectral efficiency in the hybrid ‘analogue-plus-digital’ environment.
Design Phase:
System design and equipment vendor selection are of key importance and it is essential to take a holistic approach to the end-to-end system design and optimise the whole cost of ownership.
- A lower-cost capital solution may result in greatly increased operational costs in the longer term;
- System integration of the sub-elements in the end-to-end system is critical and if not carefully addressed at the design phase will lead to substantial in-field troubleshooting, delays and cost overruns; and
- Important to consider the requirement for future services – this may mitigate large future costs at the expense of a small investment at the time of initial implementation.
Build Phase:
It is essential to have a well experienced project management and site engineering team.
The objective is to deliver on time, within budget and meet specifications.
Operations:
Digital broadcast networks require considerably more monitoring and management than analogue networks – digital networks are inherently more complex.
- Leading edge network management systems are required – particularly to obtain the lowest cost of operation
Broadcast Australia’s breadth of experience and expertise can considerably de-risk a broadcaster’s transition to digital.
To gain more information on Broadcast Australia’s involvement in the Asia-Pacific region, contact:
Chris Jaeger
Managing Director - International Business
Tel: +61 2 8113 4666
Email: chris.jaeger@broadcastaustralia.com.au