STEP-BY-STEP ROLLOUT OF DVB-T(H) SERVICE IN UKRAINE IN 2006

Transcription

1 STEP-BY-STEP ROLLOUT OF DVB-T(H) SERVICE IN UKRAINE IN 2006 Ivan Omelyanyuk 1 and Yaroslav Karnakov 2 1 Kvant-Efir Ltd., Ukraine and 2 UDTVN JSC, Ukraine ABSTRACT The paper covers the results of a 3-year DVB-T trial in Kyiv, recent steps of DVB-T introduction in Ukraine and provisions of a new TV and radio broadcasting law adopted by the Parliament of Ukraine in January The paper takes a close look at the market of digital terrestrial television in Ukraine including analysis of approximate number of viewers using external antennas, indoor antennas and portable antennas integrated in mobile phones and other handheld devices, business models of DVB-T(H) network rollout in Ukraine by a broadcast operator Ukrainian Digital TV Network (UDTVN) established in 200. It also covers the latest frequency planning results, technical and commercial terms of a bid recently awarded by the National Television and Broadcasting Council of Ukraine for 4 DVB-T multiplexes; There are some brief results of design and realisation of digital broadcasting network based on newest IP technologies allowing digital content aggregation centre the use of MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 compression in SD and HD formats and IP-based contribution and distribution to terrestrial broadcast sites as well as IPTV service providers. INTRODUCTION The first step in DVB-T implementation was the creation of a pilot zone with one multiplex in Kiev in The 1st terrestrial television channel was used for trial purposes in order to gain experience for the future digital television introduction. Due to a political change followed by the Orange Revolution in Ukraine the situation with DVB-T roll-out was improved in the end of 200. The adoption of a Figure 1 - Ukraine new TV and radio broadcasting law along with more than 60 national standards which deal with DVB-T in January 2006 gave more opportunities for the DVB-T(H) roll-out in Ukraine (Figure 1). The new Law provides rules for broadcast network operators, broadcasters, content providers, programme makers and other players in the sphere of digital broadcasting. In the digital television network project we made the decision in favour of IP-based content distribution and contribution which offers numerous advantages. Firstly, digital content distribution over IP network gives the possibility of using a single medium for the multiple programmes distribution to the regional transmitting station in different parts of Ukraine. Secondly, IP technology allows transmitting every channel s data independently. This gives a

2 unique opportunity of having custom regional multiplexes which can be made at regional transmitting stations taking into account signal propagation peculiarities in each part of Ukraine. Another advantage is a relatively simple regional program and advertisement insertion. Thirdly, programmes in the IP format are suitable for the IPTV operators use. Fourthly, the channels independency offers an opportunity of using the same network medium for content contribution. Fifthly, the IP data with DVB-H content can easily be shared with Ukrainian GSM and Telecom operators all of which have access to the IP network. Lastly, IP network gives direct and return channels for network management system making the report acquisition a simple task. Consequently IP-based content distribution and contribution offer important advantages. However, the final decision about the type of the IP network is to be made. The considered choices are fibre optic network and satellite DVB-S2 network with DVB-RCS. Along with the decision to exploit the advantages of the IP networks our company gave the preference to the MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) compression offering the bandwidth dividend. MARKET FIGURES OF UKRAINE Population of Ukraine is above forty nine million people and there are approximately seventeen million households and twenty three million TV sets in the country (Table 1). According to a market research the number of analog terrestrial TV viewers makes up more than 11 million people. As can be seen from the Table 2 below there are only thirty two thousand subscribers of digital cable pay TV in Kyiv. The service began in the end of 2002 but could only attract a limited number of subscribers though the prices were not very high. The main reason is that there are about 18 free-to-view analog channels on the air. Area Population Households (HH) TV sets Terrestrial (analog) 14.0 mln households (HH) (82 %) Terrestrial (DVB-T) Cable (analog pay TV) mln HH (1,2 %) Cable (DVB-C pay TV) 0.0 mln HH (0,18 %) Satellite (DVB-S) 0.3 mln HH (2, %) 603,700 sq.km 49.7 mln mln 23 mln Table 1 Market figures of Ukraine To be launched in June 2006 in Kyiv, 4 muxes Table 2 - TV reception in Ukraine According to reception antenna types research it is easy to see that fifty-seven percent of the audience have individual indoor and outdoor antennas (Figure 2). We think this is a good aspect for implementation of a DVB-T network. There are nine nationwide TV channels in Ukraine. The total number of nationwide channels' analog TV transmitters is over two thousand. Most of the nationwide channels cover more than 60 percent of the territory of the country.

3 Preliminary conclusions of marketing analysis Individual of DVB-T roll-out in Ukraine: urban areas with indoor cable distribution make up about 30 % which antenna Other 30% 23% means that potential number of DVB-T subscribers is not less than 11 million; high attraction of portable mobile DVB-T reception as about 30 % of households have indoor antennas. Restrictions: low average income Individual of people; absence of fee for owning a TV set Common outdoor outdoor intended for public and social TV which antenna antenna 27% 20% means problems with financing of government channels and vague possibility to attract public costs; insufficient awareness of population about advantages of digital Figure 2 - Reception antenna type research television; insufficient capabilities on the part of the government and business groups in investing to construction of DVB-T network. LEGISLATIVE ASPECT As of today there are more than 60 DTT standards approved by the State Standardization Committee of Ukraine. In November 200 the National TV and Broadcasting Council of Ukraine passed a resolution concerning gradual transition from analog to digital broadcasting starting from On April 22, 2006 the National TV and Broadcasting Council of Ukraine awarded four multiplexes to four winning companies. One of them is JSC Ukrainian Digital TV Network (UDTVN). These frequencies in Kyiv will be used for testing of DTT during the first year. Next there will be regular broadcasting on a permanent basis. Licenses will be valid for years. DVB-T TRIALS The latest results of DVB-T pilot zone in Kyiv are as follows. The DVB-T transmitter operates on the 1 st TV channel in Kyiv, output power 600 W, modulation 64QAM 3/4 GI=1/32 ERP. The adjacent analog TV channels are: 0 th channel kw and 2 nd channel kw. Since the adjacent channels are power ones the signal to noise ratio threshold at the digital receiver input is increased db. Figure 3 represents the results of experimental measurements and theoretical calculation of DVB-T transmitter coverage in Kyiv. FREQUENCY PLANNING There are some peculiarities of frequency planning in Ukraine: frequency band from 47 to 8 MHz (from the 1 st to th TV channel) is used for analog broadcasting; frequency band from 66 to 74 MHz is used for FM radio broadcasting; frequency band from 64 to 862 MHz is used for special services. Before Geneva-2006 Regional Conference frequency planning of digital terrestrial broadcasting in Ukraine has been carried out according to Chester-97 plan and Ukraine faced the following challenges: analog transmitters operating on frequency band from 47 to 8 MHz were to be moved to other bands; other radio-electronic services from frequency band 64 to 862 MHz were to be removed.

4 Figure 3 DVB-T transmitter coverage in Kyiv On Figure 4 we can see a high density of frequencies allocated for analog broadcasting in Ukraine. In this conditions Ukraine will have difficulties in digital frequencies planning during the period of simultaneous digital and analog broadcasting. The calculations prepared by the Ukrainian State Centre of Radio Frequencies (UCRF) for Geneva-2006 Agreement foresee 8-9 multiplexes covering the whole country. Figure 4 Analog frequency allocation in Ukraine

5 Figure illustrates a variant of planning with 78 Single Frequency Network (SFN) zones which will be implemented in a final stage of transition to digital broadcasting. Регіони України Зони SFN Figure - 78 SFN zones and main transmitter sites in the country Lets look at the results of frequency planning for Kyiv capital of Ukraine. On figure 6 you can see channels allocation in Kyiv with DVB-T channel operating on the 1 st TV channel between two high power ( and kw) analog TV channels. The next stage of DVB-T network roll-out, as realized in April 2006, will use channels marked red Power, kw ,3 0, DVB-T DVB-T DVB-T DVB-T 64 Channels 0,2 Figure 6 - Analog and digital frequencies allocation in Kyiv

6 We performed a great number of coverage calculations for these frequencies. Drawing and values on Figure 7, for example, represent some results of computer-based coverage estimation for CH 41 with EIRP of 16,4 kw in both DVB-T and DVB-H modes of operation (using hierarchical mode, taking hierarchy penalty into account). Mobile conditions (QPSK½, Ryce channel model, 1 m receiver antenna height) were used for high-priority stream propagation and fixed roof-top antenna conditions (64QAM ¾, Gauss model, m antenna height) for low-priority stream. 3D map including all geological objects was used during calculations. It was estimated, that DVB-H (HP) coverage could be up to 4 km and DVB-T (LP) coverage 6 km theoretically, some small shadow zones exist but with total area about 3 to 4 %. Of course all this simulations should be checked during field trials stage. ERP 16.4 кw, Hier. QPSK ½ GI=1/ QAM 3/4, GI=1/32, 41 ch. Antenna: h=38 m Unit dbµv/m Threshold 61.4 > to to to to to to 61.4 < 1.4 Figure 7 - Calculation of DVB-H transmitter coverage in Kyiv and suburbs on the 41 st TV channel THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE DIGITAL TELEVISION NETWORK Central Digital Content Aggregation Station (CDCAS) The main principles put into the CDCAS system design are:

7 maximum flexibility in all aspects: o possibility to obtain content from various different sources in different formats over different media, and process it in the way required by the service; o serving various possible business models (1) in terms of: different customers (service providers), different broadcast service types DVB-T (2), DVB-H (3), IPTV all this simultaneously; o high scalability and readiness to new types of services introduction; technologies unification at different levels thus lowering both CAPEX and OPEX; avoiding of using non-standard, proprietary and rarely-used technologies and equipment. Resulting solution developed by our model uses IP technology as a core. It is used both inside the CDCAS and outside it as primary transport technology for the distribution network. All the content sources the television signals of most Ukrainian TV channels as well as services received from satellite are split into separate services and incapsulated into single program IP streams. The powerful video processing engine allows complex mixture of SPTS and MPTS streams creation, these transport streams can easily co-exist in the same GigabitEthernet-based IP environment, as well as native IP streaming services (eg. for DVB- H broadcasting). This makes the system very flexible as of sources media type, channel routing, and output formats IPTV service providers (SP) can be served directly, whereas DVB service providers need only one IP-to-ASI interface converter per multiplex which can be installed near transmitter thus allowing transmission link itself to be IP-based. Based on IP, the core of the CDCAS is independent of compression standards and source formats, allowing fast and straightforward introduction of new technologies, such as HDTV and H.264/AVC (Figure 8). Figure 8 - Central Digital Content Aggregation Station

8 In the current project UDTVN the CDCAS system is used to provide up to 4 MPTSs for DVB-T transmission in Kyiv, as well as 1 DVB-H multiplex and some streaming services for IPTV SPs. Trials are on the way to introduce HDTV and H.264/AVC. Primary Distribution Network and Terrestrial Broadcast Sites Contemporary telecom networks in Ukraine can transport IP data very effectively, and at the early stages of UDTVN expansion over Ukraine, where number of transmitter sites will be limited, it is planned to use this type of transport. There were several successful trials performed for transporting of TV services over MPLS networks of different operators. The content format for transport is multiple SPTSs over IP this allows at the large local headends to add local-originated content and create multiplexes different from central ones, adapting to the local transmitters parameters. At the next stages of the project it is planned to introduce dedicated satellite-based distribution network using pure IP-over-DVB-S2 technology. This network will also serve as the content source for IPTV and cable networks where required. Terrestrial on-channel repeaters(gap-fillers) or transposers are also considered to be used for coverage extension in local areas to avoid expensive local distribution networks. BUSINESS MODEL Table 3 contains a summary of a DVB-T(H) business plan draft. Expenditures / Income Amount, thousand US$ Total expenditures Total income Profit/Losses Investments needed Self financing VAT Amount of investments needed: approx. US$ 200 mln. Amount of external investments needed: US$ Self financing starts from the 4 th quarter of Average annual profit after start of self financing: US$ Payback period:.7 years. Table 3 Summary of a DVB-T(H) business plan draft Ukraine, one of the first in Eastern Europe, began, since the year two thousand, researches of variants of DVB-T implementation. We developed a concept of DVB-T broadcasting network implementation without government support on a commercial basis. Amount of investments needed for implementation of a digital TV network with 4 multiplexes is approximately US$200 mln, including external investments of over US$7 mln. Selffinancing of the project starts from two thousand eight. Payback period is.7 years. Next point of the business model is that DVB-T network should be put into operation in the following order: 1. Test broadcasting in Kyiv in 2006 of DVB-H services using 1 mux and DVB-T in other 3 muxes. 2. Commercial broadcasting DVB-H and DVB-T services in Kyiv starting from Expansion to other cities by , simultaneous broadcasting of DVB-H and DVB-T services. 4. Coverage of the rest of the territory of Ukraine by two thousand eleven.. Switch-off of analog broadcasting in

9 CONCLUSIONS Implementation of a DVB-T(H) network has good prospects in Ukraine due to its potential value: urban areas with cable distribution make up less than 31 % which means that potential number of DVB-T subscribers is not less than 12 mln; high attraction of mobile DVB-T reception as about 30 % of households have indoor antennas. Taking into account the Ukrainian TV market analysis and the results of the 23 DVB-H services trials around the world broadcast digital operator UDTVN have adopted the strategy to introduce, at the first stage, DVB-H and HDTV services in Ukraine within a single multiplex. The developed network architecture allows implementing the described business models with maximum efficiency. The use of the latest technologies will allow minimizing capital as well as operation expenditures. The main idea of the offered technical and business model is that one of possible solutions for investing sources lies in attraction in Ukraine of about 70 % of investments from rich people (approximately 12 % of country's population) who are able and willing to pay for additional high quality TV services especially mobile and portable TV. This will cover costs for DVB-T network creation, compensate costs for set-top-boxes in areas with low income rate. With the growth of well-being the population will gradually begin to watch high rate digital pay TV programs along with -7 free to view digital TV programs and existing free to view analog TV programs during the period of transition from analog to digital. REFERENCES 1. ETSI TR 2 377: "Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB); DVB-H Implementation Guidelines". 2. EN : "Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB); Framing structure, channel coding and modulation for digital terrestrial television". 3. ETSI EN : "Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB); Transmission System for Handheld Terminals (DVB-H)". ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks to Mr. V.F. Oliynyk who is a member of the National Communications Commission of Ukriane and representatives of Ukrainian State Centre of Radio Frequencies Mr. Y.V. Hairov and Mr. K.R. Zhavrotsky as well as to Mr. O.I.Liakhov the President of the Cable TV Union of Ukraine.