european deployment dvb-t2 gains momentum after...

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Analysis

DVB-T2 gains momentum after fourthEuropean deploymentMichael Dean

• The DVB-T2 standard is set to play a big role in the future development of digital-terrestrial television across the globe.

• First deployed by the UK’s Freeview platform in March 2010, DVB-T2 is now being usedby three other European DTT operators (in Italy, Sweden and Finland) and more are setto follow suit.

• Although developed in Europe by the DVB organization and approved by the EuropeanTelecommunications Standards Institute, the market for DVB-T2 is global. It hasalready been adopted for digital-terrestrial switchover in South Africa and India.

• Compared to the established DVB-T standard, DVB-T2 offers a more efficient use ofspectrum and is being used to enable platforms to offer additional channels, notablythose in high-definition.

Momentum is beginning to build for DVB-T2, the “next generation” broadcasting standardfor digital-terrestrial television (DTT), which is being deployed by operators across Europe asa means to offer additional channels in high-definition television (HDTV).

After the UK’s Freeview became, in March 2010, the first platform operator to deploy the newstandard, operators in three other countries have followed suit – Europa 7 in Italy, Boxer inSweden and (on January 1) DNA in Finland. Trials are taking place in other states, includingAustria, Germany, Denmark and the Czech Republic with deployments expected in some ofthese countries in 2011 (see fig. 1).

Fig. 1: Global, DVB-T2 deployments, Jan 11

As well as being used by established DTT operators as a way to increase channel capacityand add new HD services, DVB-T2 is also set to be used in countries where digital-terrestrialtelevision has still to launch. Such countries include Slovakia and Serbia in Europe, and SouthAfrica and, potentially, India.

DVB-T2 – what it is, what it does

DTT networks suffer from the inherent problem of limited capacity when compared withdigital cable and digital satellite as a transmission platform because of the relative scarcityof terrestrial broadcast spectrum. While the switching off of analog broadcasting is liberatingadditional spectrum for digital-terrestrial broadcasting, it remains the case that a DTT service


will typically offer far fewer channels than cable or satellite services in any given market. Theadvent of high-definition television (HDTV), which can require four times as much bandwidthas standard-definition television, has exacerbated the problem.

The Digital Video Broadcasting Project (DVB), the European digital-television standards body,announced the specification for DVB-T2 in June 2008 as an answer to the demand formore efficient DTT broadcasting, claiming that the new standard could offer an efficiencyimprovement of between 30% and 50% over the first-generation DVB-T standard (published in1995). DVB-T2 was formally published as a standard by ETSI (European TelecommunicationsStandards Institute) in September 2009.

DVB-T2 uses the latest modulation and coding techniques to enable the more efficient useterrestrial spectrum for the delivery of audio, video and data services to fixed, portable andmobile devices (see fig. 2).

Fig. 2: Global, DVB-T2 standard – how it works

Compared to DVB-T, DVB-T2 can offer a much higher data rate or a much more robust signal.For example, in the UK a DVB-T channel typically has a data rate of 24 Mbit/s, whereas a DVB-T2 channel can carry 36 Mbit/s while maintaining the same level of signal robustness.

Philip Laven, DVB chairman, told Informa Telecoms & Media: “DVB-T2 employs very advancedtechnologies that were either not available or simply not practical in low-cost consumerdevices in 1995 when DVB-T was developed. Despite pushing the boundaries of technology,DVB-T2 transmissions confirm that this theoretical performance is fully achieved in practice.”

Equipment based on DVB-T2 can also handle signals transmitted in DVB-T, which is thestandard for digital-terrestrial delivery in Europe and the most widely used DTT format acrossthe globe, present in more than 60 countries and deployed in more than 200 million receivers(see fig. 3).

Operators that have deployed DVB-T2 have done so in conjunction with the MPEG-4 video-compression standard rather than the older MPEG-2 standard that is generally used forbroadcast television. The greater compression allowed by MPEG-4 is another way to increasespectrum efficiency. MPEG-4 has also been used alongside DVB-T, notably in France where itis used by pay-television and high-definition channels on the DTT platform, while MPEG-2 isused by the free-to-air, standard-definition services.


Fig. 3: Global, deployment of DVB DTT standards, Jan-11

UK – Freeview HD

In March 2010, Freeview became the first DTT operator to offer services in the new standardwhen it launched three HD channels – BBC HD, ITV1 HD and Channel 4HD – using DVB-T2 andMPEG-4 compression. In October, the BBC launched a HD simulcast of BBC One, using capacitythat communications regulator Ofcom had originally earmarked for Channel 5, which failedto satisfy the regulator’s terms. A fifth HD slot is due to become available in 2012 when analogswitch-off has been completed and will be allocated by Ofcom.

Ofcom decided that the UK should adopt the DVB-T2 standard as a way to provideHD channels on the DTT platform sooner rather than later. Back in 2007, broadcasters,manufacturers and retailers called for some of the “digital dividend” spectrum that willbecome available in 2012 when analog switch-off (ASO) is completed to be reserved for HDTV.

An alternative approach was put forward by Ofcom, using DVB-T2 and MPEG-4 over asingle multiplex (the BBC-operated Multiplex B), using frequencies that had been released byswitchover in regions where analog terrestrial signals had been switched off. At launch, thenew HD channels could be received by 50% of the UK population, a total which rose to 55% bythe end of 2010 and is due to reach 95% in 2012 when national switchover is completed. TheDVB-T2 channels are also available in some regions where switch-off has still to be completed,including London and Birmingham.

Greg Bensberg, director of spectrum policy at Ofcom, who led the team responsible for theDVB-T2 implementation, said: “Two years ago, the promise of HD on Freeview hung in thebalance. HD demanded large amounts of additional spectrum, but there was none to behad. Fortunately we identified a way of achieving what many thought was impossible – byreorganizing existing TV services and introducing two new technologies – MPEG-4 and DVB-T2. This created enough capacity for five HD channels on Freeview.”

The approach adopted by Ofcom was initially criticized on the grounds that five HD slotsmight not be enough to create an attractive investment incentive for broadcasters. TheFreeview HD capacity contrasts BSkyB’s satellite-television platform, which now offers 50HD channels, and Virgin Media’s cable-television network, which offers 29. In addition tothis, there were complaints that incorporating the DVB-T2 channels on an existing multiplexmeant a greater squeeze on the other multiplexes as they would now have to accommodatemore standard-definition channels.

Richard Lindsay-Davies, director general of The Digital TV Group (DTG) industry associationwhich develops and publishes technical specifications for DTT in the UK, told InformaTelecoms & Media: “I think there’s a broad consensus that DVB-T2 is the most effectivetechnology for the delivery of HD via DTT in the UK. The terrestrial TV platform in the UK


is very crowded and spectrum capacity is at a premium. When HD was originally discussedthere was no spare capacity to carry it.”

He added: “The UK is a genuine pioneer in the digital television sector and UK DTT is a fantasticsuccess story. The DTG is frequently approached by other territories who wish to learn fromthe UK model. Many countries are now following the UK’s lead and implementing DVB-T2services.”

The next major step for Freeview HD will come this summer with the launch of BBC-led YouView, the connected-TV project which combines digital-terrestrial television withInternet-delivered “over the top” (OTT) video content. The YouView specifications includea DVB-T2 tuner, so take-up of the product would serve to increase the penetration of theFreeview HD channels.

Freeview said that 420,000 devices (set-top boxes and IDTV sets) for Freeview HD had beensold at the end of August 2010. It estimated that 230,000 of these were being used to watchthe high-definition channels, on the assumption that a sizeable proportion of the IDTVs wouldhave been bought by people who live in areas where the channels are not yet available or whobought the sets as replacement sets for general viewing and have not yet used them to watchHDTV (see fig. 4).

Fig. 4: UK, Freeview HD equipment sales, Jun-Aug-10

Italy – Europa 7

In Italy, broadcaster Europa 7 started test broadcasts using DVB-T2 in spring 2010 ahead of afull launch in October.

Europa 7 offers nine channels using DVB-T2, of which eight in are in HD. It broadcasts fivethematic pay-TV channels in HD along with three HD pay-per-view pornography channels. Instandard-definition, Europa 7 offers its Fly Channel free-to-air channel which combines news,satire and cultural programming.

The launch of Fly Channel and the Europa 7 HD platform marked the end of a long legal battle.In 1999, Centro Europa 7 was granted a license for national terrestrial broadcasting but wasunable to implement it because it could not obtain any broadcast frequencies. The EuropeanCourt of Justice delivered a judgment in January 2008 which condemned Italy’s allocation offrequencies and Italian telecommunications and media regulator Agcom then ruled in favor ofCentro Europa 7 in October 2008. The government finally allocated national terrestrial (analogand digital) frequencies to the broadcaster in December 2008.

In the spring of 2010 Europa 7 was granted a full multiplex and rebranded itself as Europa 7HD, opting to use DVB-T2.

Sweden – Boxer

Boxer TV-Access, the digital-TV operator owned by the Swedish state-owned broadcastinfrastructure provider Teracom, launched HD channels using DVB-T2 in November 2010 on


the Swedish DTT platform that it operates. It now offers six HDTV channels (out of a total of40 channels) and plans to launch more.

Boxer has capacity for eight HDTV channels on Sweden’s sixth and seventh DTT multiplexes,one of which uses the UHF band while the other uses VHF as well as UHF as a way to createadditional spectrum. The coverage of the two HD multiplexes is currently just over 70% ofSwedish households and Boxer expects to reach 95% by the end of 2011 and a maximum of98% during 2012.

The channels offered in HD, using DVB-T2, are the free-to-air SVT1 and SVT2 together withpay-TV channels TV3 HD, Kanal 5 HD, MTVN HD and National Geographic HD.

The move to offer new value-added services such as HD is intended to boost the DTT platform,particular the pay-television component which is operating in a very competitive marketagainst cable, satellite and IPTV rivals. Pay-TV penetration in Sweden is close to 90% of thecountry’s 4.8 million TV households and Boxer has about 700,000 pay-DTT subscribers.

Teracom also operates digital-terrestrial television in Denmark, through its ownership ofBroadcast Service Denmark, and in Finland, through pay-television operator Plus TV. It hasno immediate plans to introduce DVB-T2 in either country, although Teracom said: “This [thelaunch of DVB-T2 in Sweden] has primarily been an important step for us internally, giventhat we have businesses in three countries. From this we can use experiences and synergiesfor future introduction of HD/DVB-T2 in the other countries.”

Finland – DNA

In June 2009, the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communication grantedtelecommunications and cable operator DNA an operating-network license for testtransmissions of HD DTT broadcasts using DVB-T2 across Finland. As well as introducing high-definition channels to the DTT platform, the move also broke the monopoly of Digita, the DTTnetwork operator owned by French transmission company TDF.

Early in 2010, DNA used the Winter Olympics to provide content for its HD test transmission(using DVB-T), after which it was granted a full programming license for eight HD channels.

In December 2010 DNA launched HD versions of MTVN and Animal Planet HD on a free-to-airbasis using DVB-T. On January 1, the HD broadcasts switched to the DVB-T2 standard and wereencrypted with two additional channels launching – Nelonen Sport Pro and Canal+ Film HD.

Other channels are still under negotiation and DNA is also applying for new network licenceon the VHF-C multiplex. If successful, it plans to run more than 10 HD channels and between10 and 15 in standard-definition.

Mikko Saarentaus, DNA business director for TV and value-added services, told InformaTelecoms & Media that the company had some key advantages in moving into DTT. “DNA’sway to build the network based on mobile networks masts, lower transmitter powers andsingle frequency network technology is quite unique in the whole world,” he said. “It hasproven to be an efficient way to build up a modern TV broadcasting network with less powerconsumption. It has also given authorities a possibility to give one extra multiplex on the VHFfrequency band.”

A year ago, DNA said that by the end of 2010 its DVB-T2 high-definition channels would beavailable commercially to 40% of Finnish DTT homes. Saarentaus said that the target had beenmet and that coverage would exceed 50% by the end of the first quarter of 2011 and 80% bythe end of the year. DNA’s license obliges the operator to achieve a minimum coverage of 60%by the end of 2011.

DNA said that the first integrated digital television sets (IDTVs) with DVB-T2 tuners werealready on the market – made by Sony – and that it expected all other major vendors to havemodels available by April. The company expected that more than half of television sets thatwould be sold this year would have a DVB-T2 tuner (about 400,000 IDTVs were sold in Finlandin 2010).

But the arrival of DVB-T2 set-top boxes is taking longer than DNA had originally anticipatedand they are not now expected to be available to consumers before April. Saarentaus notedthat DVB-T2 set-top boxes made for other markets were not suitable for Finland because of“certain specialities in the Finnish market”, such as the use of Conax and DVB subtitling.


Finland already has a high broadband penetration (every Finnish home has a legal right toa broadband connection) and DNA plans to integrate Internet-delivered “over the top” (OTT)content into its offering. According to Saarentaus: “We are planning to build up a hybridmodel, where capacity intensive HD-broadcasting will be using cable or DTT networks anddeliver a greater range of other content in lower quality through OTT.”

Digita and DNA will be joined by a third DTT network operator later this year – Anvia-TV,which has a license to transmit HD using DVB-T2 over one national and one local multiplex.Anvia started tests in November 2010, having created a network by renting masts andtransmission facilities from Digita.

As well as the three network operators, there are now three DTT service operators in Finland:Plus-TV, DNA and TDF-Entertainment.

Saarentaus argued that “only those operators which are running the service operations on topof their own networks [that is, Digita/TDF and DNA] can survive in the longer run.”

Teracom, which owns the 18 channel Plus-TV pay-TV service, said that it would like to offeradditional HD channels in Finland using DVB-T2, but that for the time being it was “going todevelop the core service first”. The company added that Finland had a long tradition of free-to-air DTT and pay services would have a hard task ahead of them.

Where next?

Trials of DVB-T2 have started in Austria, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Ukraine, and the CzechRepublic, involving operators and broadcasters ORS, BR, Abertis Telecom, Open Channel,Odessa RTPC and CTU. Other European countries – notably Serbia and Slovakia – that have stillto launch DTT are planning to move directly to DVB-T2.

Austrian broadcast-services provider ORS is carrying out tests on a single transmitter andexpects to expand to two additional ones. It pointed out that decisions in Austria on adoptingDVB-T2 would be based more on business than technical issues.

“Test results from UK and other countries are quite interesting for us and successfulimplementation or business cases can show us opportunities and possibilities for Austria,”said ORS. It added that from a technical point of view, the UK and Austrian situations werevery different: “The UK (as an island) hasn’t the same lack of frequencies as we. FurthermoreDVB-T2 in the UK is roof-top-antenna-based. In Austria nobody has a roof-top antenna.”

Farther afield, the DVB-T2 standard gained an added boost in November 2010 when, aftermuch deliberation, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) recommendedits adoption. The SADC represents a region with a combined population of more than 250million across 15 member states. The SADC chose DVB-T2 in preference to the Brazilian ISDB-Tb standard for making the transition from analog to digital-terrestrial broadcasting in theregion. On January 4, SADC member South Africa announced that it would adopt DVB-T2.

In August 2010, India announced plans to introduce DVB-T2 for high- and standard-definitiontelevision at 19 major cities. India made a commitment (in 1999) to use DVB-T for digitalswitchover and some tests took place although services were never launched.

Laven at the DVB summed up the prospects for the new standard as follows: “Broadcastersin several countries have already launched attractive services using DVB-T2, whilst consumerelectronics’ manufacturers have responded very quickly by delivering low-cost set-top boxesand integrated TV sets. This remarkable success story means that broadcasters can nowseriously consider migrating from DVB-T to DVB-T2, whereas broadcasters in countrieswithout digital terrestrial TV can leapfrog directly to DVB-T2.”

Informa viewpoint

DVB-T2 is clearly going to play an important role in the future growth of digital-terrestrialtelevision, not only in Europe but in some key markets across the globe, such as India andsouthern Africa.

In established DTT territories, such as the UK and the Nordic region, its role in the mediumterm is set to be as a way to boost the capacity of existing networks and enable operators toprovide HDTV (and possibly 3DTV) channels. Despite the efficiency gains that DVB-T2 brings,


DTT networks are still going to be limited in the number of HD channels they can offer incomparison to cable and satellite networks.

But DTT has been able to carve out a niche in many markets among viewers that want extrachannels but not the full panoply that can be offered by cable and satellite. In this context,DVB-T2 should be able to do the job of “future proofing” DTT networks by enabling them tooffer a selection of HD channels that will be sufficient for their specific audiences.

For countries which have yet to start the switchover to digital-terrestrial television, DVB-T2would seem now to be a more logical choice than adopting the old DVB-T standard. Whilecosts are higher for set-top boxes and IDTVs based on the new standard, they are likely to fallquickly as equipment is deployed.

Given the extensive base of DVB-T equipment – in more than 200 homes across the world –there is likely to be a lengthy period in many countries where the two versions of the standardexist side by side and it could well take at least 10 years for DVB-T2 to supersede its oldersibling.

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