EBU President Jean-Paul Philippot, Director General Ingrid Deltenre & ABU Secretary General Dr Javad Mottaghi (ABU)
Leaders of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) have demanded global action to protect spectrum to guarantee the future of broadcasting.
The call was made on the closing day of the 50th Anniversary Annual Assembly of the ABU (28 October) which was hosted in Macau by the public service broadcaster of the China Special Administrative Region Macau, Teledifusao de Macau, S.A.R. (TDM).
EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre told delegates that 250 million Europeans rely on spectrum to watch digital terrestrial TV (DTT) – where the signal is received through a TV’s aerial.
“DTT remains the backbone to public TV access,” Ms Deltenre said. “We cannot allow the mobile industry’s insatiable appetite for spectrum resources to highjack this precious resource.”
Ms Deltenre was supported by ABU Secretary General Dr. Javad Mottaghi who highlighted the essential service terrestrial TV plays in regional areas of Asia Pacific.
“Terrestrial broadcasting remains a crucial tool in emergency situations,” said Dr. Mottaghi. “It is often the only technology which continues to function and can reach a mass audience despite difficult external conditions. Terrestrial television is the cornerstone of the broadcast industry and its survival is essential to the region’s people.”
ABU President Cho Dae-hyun, who also heads South Korea’s national broadcaster KBS said spectrum is crucial to the future of terrestrial broadcasting.
“The Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union is working closely with the EBU to protect spectrum,” said Mr Dae-hyun. “Without securing the new media platform, we cannot consider the launch of UHD broadcast service. Quick and firm global action should be taken to safeguard this resource for digital TV broadcasting.”
With preparations well underway for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) conference on spectrum WRC-15 administrations around the world are taking positions on the assignment of spectrum to different applications.
The broadcast industry has been working with administrations to illustrate the efficiency of modern DTT networks, the strong demand for DTT services, and the evidence that the spectrum assignments currently reserved for DTT should not change.