India’s communications regulator is advising a phased programme for the implementation of digital terrestrial TV (DTT) in metro cities from 2019, and the entire country by the end of 2023.
Following a six-month consultation, The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has announced four private players should be permitted to provide DTT services alongside public service broadcaster Doordarshan in any one service area “to ensure plurality and competition in the market”.A total of seven DTT transmitters will likely be allowed in a particular service area, enabling a platform to provide services such as standard and high definition TV, mobile TV, and value added services.
Private participation is, says TRAI, expected to bring in investment and speed up the digitisation process, “thereby benefiting the consumers by providing variety of TV channels and value added services”.
Comprehensive frequency planning for the roll out of a DTT broadcast network should be undertaken by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in consultation with the Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing of the Department of Telecommunications and other technical agencies, the regulator recommended.
TRAI’s DTT timeline sets the completion of Phase I (Metro cities) at 31 December 2019, Phase II (cities having a population of more than one million) by 31 December 2021, and Phase III (the rest of India) by 31 December 2023.
The regulator also advises a minimum overlap of three months as simulcast period for migration from analogue to digital transmission, before analogue signals are switched off.
