According to the decision made by the International Telecommunication Union, states including those of the European Union as well as Georgia are expected to finalize the switchover to digital broadcasting by June 2015. The obligation was taken up by Georgia upon signing the 2006 Geneva agreement.
Terrestrial analog frequencies - currently used for broadcasting in Georgia – are a limited resource, while digital broadcasting – offering more signal capabilities – has seen growing worldwide demand for it. Owner of a license for a single broadcasting zone can facilitate broadcasting for at least 8 digital television channels. Georgia obtained 75 digital channels during ITU channel distribution in 2005, although the figure later rose to 175 as a result of talks with neighboring countries.
A digital television signal can be distributed via terrestrial networks, satellite or Internet Protocol Television (IPTV). Satellite is used for both Direct to Home (DTH) reception of toll-based television and for providing signals for terrestrial and cable television networks.
Most of the European Union states have already finalized their digital switchover, while the process is only beginning in Georgia. It is managed by the Ministry for Economy and Sustained Development via the Council for Digital Switchover created on December 5th, 2012 which includes representatives from media, non-Governmental Organizations and state structures. The council is tasked with developing a strategy for the state to use during the switchover. Many crucial topics are still undecided at this stage, with customers not informed about the changes that will affect them.
InterPressNews spoke to Daniel Cop, General Manager of Sales in Scandinavia, Baltics and Eastern Europe for a leading international satellite operator SES regarding Georgia’s digital switchover process and challenges tied to it.

How would you assess the preparations for digital switchover in Georgia?

When speaking about analog-to-digital switchover, the main misunderstanding lies in a perception from the majority of people that digital television is not yet present in Georgia. But it is – for example through IPTV by Silknet or toll-based DTH television by MagtiSat. The topic under review currently concerns how Georgia should facilitate switchover from terrestrial analog to digital signal. This process is underway and we are involved in it, as satellite broadcasting is an inseparable part of the process.
We plan to offer Georgia our satellite capabilities and technical expertise, a service we have already carried out in a number of states – including the United Kingdom and France - during their digital switchover process. We are currently doing this in Ukraine, where our function lies in delivering a satellite signal to terrestrial networks.

Many important topics involved with digital switchover are still unclear in Georgia, although what has been determined is that the country will probably choose the DVB-T2 (Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial second generation) standard and the MPEG4 format. Is this a good choice?

This is clearly a choice aimed with an eye for the future. The European states who already switched to digital broadcasting used the DVB-T, while the countries that made a later switch opted for DVB-T2. Georgia is in a fortunate position as it can facilitate the process based on the experience of other states.

Just two years separate us from the agreement date. Do you believe two years will be enough for Georgia to go through all stages of the switchover?

Whether Georgia is ready or not, the switch will take place in 2015 and digital broadcasting will replace analog. Therefore the government should make in the shortest possible time the decision about how the groups included in the Council for Digital Switchover should solve challenges of the digital broadcasting. There should be a definite deadline for facilitating everything and providing for the involvement of all interested parties in the process, which should be transparent. No single player should have the right for operating and should be neutral and open for all platforms, be it IPTV, cable broadcasting or satellite.

A very important issue also not yet decided concerns the question of who will be responsible for operating multiplex (broadcasting zone covering at least 8 digital channels) – will it be the state or a private company. Based on your experience, which option do you believe to be the most suitable for the Georgian broadcasting market?

I believe this should be decided by the council created by the state by developing a working strategy. I believe that market and customers should always be the ones deciding what and how to watch. This is the principle that worked in European states during their digital switchover. We are a commercial company and so act according to the rules of market. I cannot assess options for the government as good or bad, but I think that - as it happened in most of the European countries – there will be a tender for interested companies in Georgia.

Do you believe Georgia will manage to facilitate simulcasting (parallel analog and digital broadcasting) in the limited remaining time?

Simulcasting is necessary, otherwise television channels will suffer financially. Both private channels and the public broadcaster should be involved in the process. This is tied with significant expenses, but is also a solution to avoid misunderstanding. Because of the limited remaining time, there is a necessity to determine the deadline and the question of terms for a tender to enable companies on the market to submit their applications for proposing exact services.

How do you see the role of SES in Georgia’s digital switchover? Are you in talks with respective officials?

We are on standby for the tender and plan to submit our terms. We have significant experience and position and can be good partners like we did in many countries, for example in Ukraine where the digitalization process has recently begun. We serve a digital terrestrial network operator with our satellite frequency, which means distributing their signal to a television tower, which is an optimal choice for that country. To say it simply, a multiplex operator buys a satellite frequency from us and sends its signal to our satellite, which then broadcasts it.

Magticom is your long-term contractor in Georgia and expressed a wish to operate multiplex. What is your view on the matter?

Magticom have one of the leading satellite platforms in Georgia and are the first distributor of DTH television. We will be supporting their interest for providing the service, although we are neutral, which means SES will on its part offer its own satellite service to the country if satellite platform involvement will be guaranteed during the digital switchover process.

Almost half of the Georgian population receives television broadcasting via common apartment antennae or an outside one. This includes the population in the regions. What are the chances of them making a choice in favor of toll-based satellite broadcasting during the digital switchover? How appropriate will it be for them to choose satellite broadcasting in terms of cost?

Georgia is a mountainous country, which means difficulties in terms of costs of distributing a signal using common antenna for a small part of the population not receiving a terrestrial signal. Satellite is a solution for this case and for the topic of how we should deliver broadcasting to them based on a basic social package. In general, everything will depend on the legal framework developed by the state for digital terrestrial broadcasting. For us to create an individual product for Georgian customers, we must take into account the applications received as a result of a tender. If the market is open for all platforms and if all digital broadcasters have opportunities for drawing their customers, this decision will depend on customers. They will be able to choose how they want to watch digital television, which operators to use and at what cost. Although free television should still be available for those unable to afford to pay.

Television viewers are in effect not informed of what is needed for them to be ready for the digital switchover. How should the informational campaign be conducted so that some of the viewers are not left without a TV signal in 2015?

From a technical standpoint the digitalization includes connecting Set-top Box to a television set, whether a customer receives television through cable, satellite or IPTV. Television sets of the new generation include an integrated device, but there is still a need to connect it to an external one to receive a digital signal. This should be the core point of the informational campaign. Georgian customers are going to have to make a decision between satellite, cable and IPTV when they are about to purchase the type of device to connect to their television sets to in 2015.

By Ana Tskhovrebova