Bucharest, April 2015

Manuel da Costa Cabral

Regional Initiative for Europe

EUR1- Spectrum management and

transition to digital broadcasting

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Transition to digital broadcasting and the switch-off

2. DVB-T in Portugal

3. Framework for the probing network

4. Objectives and Needs

5. Evolution

6. DVB-T Probes Network

7. Lessons learned

1. Transition to digital

broadcasting and the switch-off

Public Tender (2008)

Only one interested (PT Comunicações – historic operators)

Simulcast (3 years)

Network roll-out initiated in Dec. 2008

Service launched, with a coverage of 40% of the population in Apr.

2009

Network roll-out concluded at the of end 2010, according to the

license, with 153 transmitters

Transition to Digital broadcasting

Sudden Migration

Total number of receivers sold

Nov 2011 - around 170 000

Dec 2011 – around 260 000

Aug 2012 – around 1 550 000

500 000 households with TDT.

Around 10 000 complaints – 2%

Total number of households in Portugal 5 900 000

Transition to Digital broadcasting

1st phase – 12 of January 2012

Transmitters that cover approximately the coastal area

of the mainland territory (green area)

2nd phase – 22 of March 2012

Transmitters of Azores and Madeira (yellow area)

3rd phase – 26 of April 2012

Remaining transmitters covering the mainland territory

(blue area)

The plan also established the switch-off in certain

retransmitters in pilot zones, before this 3 phases, to

be further determined

ANACOM’s decision of 24 June 2010

Switch-off – Detailed plan

1. DVB-T in Portugal

Spectrum refarming (EU)

• October 2009 – European Commission (EC) non-binding

Recommendation on the digital dividend asking Member States to:

• Complete analogue switch-off by 1 January 2012

• Opening the 800 MHz band under harmonised conditions for electronic

communication services other than, and in addition to, broadcasting

services

• May 2010 – EC decision on technical harmonisation of the 800 MHz band

• September 2010 – EC proposal for a decision on RSPP, including opening

the 800 MHz band for wireless broadband

• December 2010 – RSPP decision approved => opening the 800 MHz band

(which includes the channel used for DTT in Mainland Portugal)

Portuguese DVB-T Network

Spectrum refarming (Portugal)

ANACOM had to coordinate with neighbours and identify alternative

channels for DTT => ch. 60 (782-790 MHz) in Mainland Portugal / others in

Madeira and Azores

• December 2010 – Public consultation on the refarming, including the

replacement of channel 67 by channel 60 for DTT in Mainland Portugal

• March 2011 – Final decision on the replacement of channels in Madeira

and Azores / Further public consultation on the replacement of channel 67

by channel 56, for DTT in Mainland Portugal

• April 2011 – Final decision to replace channel 67 by 56

• DTT operator had 16 weeks to conclude the transition, starting with the

relays of the 3 pilot areas

• Reduced impact on users due to the yet small DTT take-up by July 2011

Portuguese DVB-T Network

Portuguese DVB-T Network

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10 MHz 11 MHz

1 MHz

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Off

UHF ANALOGUE TV PLAN

UHF DTT (DVB-T)IMT 800 MHz Band

Technology Neutral (LTE FDD)

Portuguese DVB-T Network

• SFN network

• Portugal’s Mainland – Channel 56 (750-758 MHz)

• Madeira Island - Channel 54 (734-742 MHz)

• Azores Archipelago - Channel 47 (678-686 MHz), 48 (686-694 MHz), 49 (694-

702 MHz), 55 (742-750 MHz) and 56 (750-758 MHz)

• MFN Network (Overlay)

• Portugal’s Mainland. Seven emitters - Channel 40, 42, 45, 46, 48 and 49

• Currentely, there are 242 (SFN) + 7 (MFN) transmitters

Portuguese DVB-T Network - SFN

Portuguese DVB-T Network - MFN

• Due to the high number of

interference complains in May

2012 and in order to solve

rapidally the problems, the DTT

operator, with the accordance of

the ICP-ANACOM, installed

three emitters in a MFN.

• The network is evolving to a

MFN.

2. Framework for the Probing network

Summary

Portuguese DVB-T Probing Network

To assess in real time the integrity of the DVB-T signal

globaly delivered across the country by the operator

386 probes

Permanent monitoring 24 by 24 hours, 7 days/week, 365 days/year, in 386

diferent places

Developed by 2 Portuguese companies (UBIWHERE & WAVECOM) with the scientific

supervision of the University of Oporto (INESC-TEC/FEUP)

3. Objectives and Needs

What did we need? • A technological solution capable of fulfill the

following challenges: Permanent monitoring in a representative set of locations of the

population distribution

Low cost

Flexible (automatic) e autonomous (communications)

• Manufacturers

No adequate solutions

High costs

Option:

Design a probe from scratch

100% Portuguese technology

Very significant cost reduction

Needs and Objectives

4. Evolutionary Perspective of the Project

Evolutionary Perspective

2012

2013

2014

26 April

Switch-off

December Technical specifications

23 January International Public Tender

12 April Contract award with the consortium

15 May Contract signature

Begin

8 October Test acceptance of the probe

27 December Implementation of the pilot

network

End

3.º Quarter

2014

5. DVB-T Probing Network

Network

Measurements (each second)

•Electrical Field

•MER

•cBER

•vBER

•BER Reed-Solomon

•C/N

•Recording of a sample of the

transport stream in case of

problems

Full automatic operation

Installation in a Portuguese

secondary local administrative unit

equivalent to an administrative parish

Network

DTT Probe

Remaining 14 Probes:

• Azores and Madeira

• Spare

• Alternative locations

400 Probes 386 for the network

Processing of the Collected Data

• Automatic reports of a probe or a set of probes:

Number of event alarms by parameter

Downtime of the DTT signal

Statistical analisys, etc.

• National statiscal analisys based on the data provided

by the overall of the probes

• Georeferenced weather information

correlate the measurements with the weather

conditions that were felt at the time and place

where they were obtained

6. Lessons learned

Lessons learned

• Interference very difficult to manage on a SFN;

• Receiver equipment installation is crucial for a

smooth transition;

• Difficult to monitor the quality of TDT network

without appropriate tools;

• Do not underestimate public pressure.