ID :
329338
Tue, 05/20/2014 - 09:32
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UAE holds meeting to coordinate terrestrial television channels

Abu Dhabi (WAM): The UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, TRA, in Dubai is hosting the first Arab meeting and regional forum to coordinate terrestrial television channels from 17th to 20th May, in collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union, ITU, the Arab League and the Arab States Broadcasting Union. Majed Al Mesmar, Deputy General Manager of the telecommunications sector in TRA, welcomed broadcasting operators and official state representatives in the presence of Ibrahim Al Abed, General Manager of the National Media Council, as well as media managers in the nation. The forum focuses on the migration from analogue terrestrial TV broadcasting to digital, and the need for regional coordination and cooperation to enable the transition. It also discusses the technical and regulatory challenges of this migration in the Arab region in relation to the cost, deployment, return of investment, and radio frequency planning and sharing spectrum. In addition, participants reviewed technical requirements and necessary procedures to make amendments to the Geneva '06 terrestrial digital broadcasting plans. Mr. Al Mesmar said, "There are certain issues that we must not lose sight of and those include the band allocated for analogue terrestrial TV broadcasting which will no longer be protected after mid-June, and the reassignment of the 700 and 800 MHz bands that reduce the number of channels allocated for digital terrestrial TV broadcast. In order to tackle these issues, we need to discuss and understand everything related to the migration from analogue to digital, the importance of digital terrestrial TV broadcast and the challenges of this migration in the Arab region in relation to cost, deployment and return of investments." The meeting also witnessed ITU's radio sector technicians analysing and discussing technical issues brought up in the RRC 2006 conference to determine the extent of the possibility to use the proposed frequencies. "Digital terrestrial television broadcasting offers many advantages that exceeds traditional analogue. This includes high quality picture and sound, efficient use of the frequency spectrum, high mobility, multi-channel and broadcast media, in addition to better reception of broadcast signals, which also features a low cost compared with satellite broadcasting," said Tarek Al Owady, Executive Director of Spectrum Management and International Affairs in the UAE. The TRA has recently worked on a draft document for receivers suitable for digital terrestrial television broadcasting, in collaboration with the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology as well as TV manufacturers and programme operators such as Abu Dhabi Media Company, Dubai Media Incorporated and Sharjah Media. The draft dictates that TV suppliers need to be committed in providing tuning devices for digital terrestrial TV broadcasting with every TV sold in the country by 2015 according to the brochure. – Emirates News Agency, WAM

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