BEST PRACTICE GUIDE Interactive Service, Frequency Social Business Migration, Policy & Platforms Acceptance Models Implementation Regulation & Business Opportunities BEST PRACTICE GUIDE FOREWORD As Lead Partner of DICE I am happy to present this We all want to reap the economic benefi ts of dig- best practice guide. Its contents are based on the ital convergence. The development and successful outputs of fi ve workgroups and countless discus- implementation of new services need extended sions in the course of the project and in conferences markets, however; markets which often have to be and workshops with the broad participation of in- larger than those of the individual member states. dustry representatives, broadcasters and political The sooner Europe moves towards digital switcho- institutions. ver the sooner the advantages of released spectrum can be realised. The DICE Project – Digital Innovation through Co- operation in Europe – is an interregional network We have to recognise that a pan-European telecom funded by the European Commission. INTERREG as and media industry is emerging. The search for an EU community initiative helps Europe’s regions economies of scale is driving the industry into busi- form partnerships to work together on common nesses outside their home country and to strategies projects. By sharing knowledge and experience, beyond their national market. these partnerships enable the regions involved to develop new solutions to economic, social and envi- It is therefore a pure necessity that regional political ronmental challenges. institutions look across the border and aim to learn from each other and develop a common under- DICE focuses on facilitating the exchange of experi- standing. Supporting networks like DICE help to fi nd ences between regions which are in the process of solutions and new innovative paths. introducing digital terrestrial television and related services. Within the next decade television as it has As this project comes to an end I would like to thank been known to date will come to an end across Eu- all my partners for their active participation and rope. Plans are being made and strategies developed their input. in all European countries to fi nd the right solution. Special thanks go to David Harby, Indigo Associ- ates (UK) Ltd, for putting together this best practice guide. Berlin, December 2006 Ingrid Walther Head of Division Media, Information and Communication Technology 2 DICE BEST PRACTICE GUIDE CONTENTS Foreword 2 Contents 3 Introduction 4 Executive Summary 5 Best Practices 29 PART 1: BACKGROUND 33 The DICE Project 34 INTERREG IIIC 34 DICE 34 Project Management Structure 36 Market Status in DICE Member Countries 36 The Workgroups & Their Remits 37 Government & Regulatory Intervention 38 The Groups’ Reports Findings 40 PART 2: Conclusions & Best Practices 86 Main Findings & Overall Conclusions 86 The Project 87 Market differences 87 Regionalised transition 87 Simulcasts 88 Pilots and Trials 88 Market Research 88 Effective Communications 89 Keep it Simple & Smart (KISS) 90 Services for all 90 Assistance/Subsidies 91 Collaboration 91 Free to View (FTV) 91 MPEG-4 92 i-TV 92 Return Channel 93 Mobile linkage? 93 Other technology aspects 93 Regulatory 95 Business Models 96 Best Practices 97 Recommendations 100 Glossary 101 History of DTT & Mobile TV Developments in DICE Countries 106 ANNEX 1: i-TV in DICE Member Countries 108 ANNEX 2: Mobile TV in DICE Member Countries 118 Acknowledgements 130 Further Resources 131 3 INTRODUCTION This document (the guide) aims to provide guidance potentially assist regional development. In addition to stakeholders from European Union (EU) member the guide also draws from DICE conferences and states and other countries on effective measures meetings plus other contributions from trusted ex- for the introduction and development of Digital TV ternal sources. (DTV) services based on the Digital Video Broadcast (DVB-T) Standard. The guide is essentially in two parts. Replicating much of the DICE Project approach, the fi rst part The guide represents a core deliverable of the Inter- shares useful background on experiences and trends reg III funded DICE Project. This was formed to bring found in partner regions and where appropriate together representatives from EU member states to in other leading markets. The second part outlines explore opportunities for innovation through co- the core conclusions and then sets out proposed operation. The DICE (Digital innovation through co- best practice measures and recommendations that operation in Europe) project focuses on facilitating could be adopted by those yet to introduce digital the exchange of experiences between seven Euro- television. pean countries and regions that are in the process of introducing digital terrestrial television (DTT) and The DTV market continues to see constant and rapid related services. Specifi c emphasis is placed on opti- change. The guide’s fi ndings refl ect the vast majority mising opportunities presented by DTT to promote of the DICE Project and its groups’ work drawing to a regional economic development, and in particular, close at the end of September 2006. small to medium enterprises (SME) in the media and telecommunication sector. Related issues to be dealt with include consumer acceptance, technical stand- ards, business models, and regulatory frameworks. The Federal State of Berlin, represented by the Sen- ate Department for Economics, Labour and Wom- en’s Issues, is the leading partner in this project. The other participating countries and regions are – Aus- tria (Graz), UK, Sweden (Gävle), Hungary, Poland and Lithuania. The guide’s content builds on the output of the fi ve DICE workgroups. They were each tasked with ex- ploring particular key elements for preparing the market – including technology options that could 4 DICE BEST PRACTICE GUIDE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I INTERREG IIIC is a European Union (EU)-funded I Their respective memberships included core rep- programme designed to promote co-operation be- resentation from government and regulatory agen- tween regional and other public authorities across cies. Those involved continue to observe a technolo- the entire EU territory and neighbouring countries. gy neutral stance in accordance with the EU position Partners can work together in common projects and on open standards and platform neutrality, however, share the knowledge and experience, that enable a more “hands-on” approach was required in light of the regions involved to develop new solutions to a number of particular unique issues for DTT some economic, social and environmental challenges. The of which include: programme is fi nanced by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), as part of the Structural · Best Interests: Ensuring optimum use and ben- Funds, and co-fi nanced by national project partners. efi t from fi nite and valuable spectrum – both The application period runs 2002-2006. All activities fi nancially and from a social welfare perspective. have to be fi nalised by end of 2008. · Horizontal market nature of DTT: As no single operator or organisation is in control, a wide I An acronym for Digital Innovation through Co- range of products, marketing, distribution and operation in Europe, the DICE project commenced installation practices results. Government and in 2003 and is due to be completed by the end of regulators need to monitor and encourage the 2006. Partly funded by the EU Interreg IIIC, DICE was development of common standards and best founded to examine the effects on regions when mi- practices to achieve the best interests above. grating to digital consumer technologies and serv- · Terrestrial – the longest established TV ices. It considers how mutual lessons can be learned platform: Capitalising on terrestrial TV being to allow standardised approaches and changes to the bedrock in many homes – even if only on be optimised to encourage economic development secondary TVs, plus DTT being the most direct of the regions, in particular, to see how the acces- digital replacement. To continue engaging with sion countries yet to deploy digital technologies citizens not least in rural areas and via portable could benefi t from others that already had well es- or mobile solutions. tablished digitisation strategies in place. The Federal · Social inclusion: Capitalise on DTT being largely State of Berlin, represented by the Senate Depart- free to view based, offering a simpler less expen- ment for Economics, Labour and Women’s Issues, is sive package often preferred by the elderly or the leading partner in this project. The other partici- more affordable for those on social service pay- pating countries and regions are – Austria (Graz), UK, ments. The horizontal nature of DTT also gives Sweden (Gävle), Hungary, Poland and Lithuania and more scope to legislate or encourage access Denmark (Fredrikshavn) before its representation technologies for the physically and mentally im- withdrew. paired. · Alerts Provision: Terrestrial being best placed I This Best Practice Guide is largely derived from to broadcast public alerts/warnings (e.g. fl oods, the output of the 5 DICE workgroups that were each traffi c, weather, terrorism etc) through such as charged with exploring particular aspects for the national controls, regional or localised delivery introduction of digital terrestrial television (DTT) as and on the move. below: · C2 WG1: Social Acceptance · C2 WG2: Business Models · C2 WG3: Frequency Policy & Regulation · C3 WG1: Platforms · C3 WG2: Interactive Services, Migration, Implementation & Business Opportunities. 5 THE GROUPS’ FINDINGS DIFFERENCES IN APPLYING DTT DISTRIBUTION: This section highlights the key fi ndings of the work- groups based on available data up to September 2006: I Level of Importance: DTT is less important in some countries mainly as result of many free-to-air I There is a wide range of differences in DICE part- (FTA) national language channels that are available ner countries for the existing status and means of on satellite or cable. Some countries (e.g. UK, Italy, applying digital terrestrial TV distribution including : France, Spain and Poland) depend more on terrestri- al distribution than others (e.g.