Dab) in Uganda
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INTRODUCTION OF DIGITAL AUDIO BROADCASTING (DAB) IN UGANDA A 2015/2016 INTER-UNIVERSITY COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH STUDY FUNDED BY UGANDA COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION FINAL PROJECT REPORT JANUARY 2017 Research Team: 1 Dr. Roseline N. Akol (Principal Investigator) 2 Paul Bogere 3 Godfrey Kibalya Mirondo 4 Nelson Tashobya Ruhaabwa List of Abbreviations and Acronyms AAC Advanced Audio Coding AFRISWOG African Spectrum Working Group AM Amplitude Modulation CAS Conditional Access System DAB Digital Audio Broadcasting DMB Digital Multimedia Broadcasting DTV Digital Television DVB-T Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial EACO East-African Communications Organization ETSI European Telecommunications Standards Institute FM Frequency Modulation ICT Information Communication Technologies IEC International Electro-technical Committee ITU International Telecommunications Union ITU GE06 ITU Geneva 2006 Plan ITU-R ITU Radio Communication Sector MPEG Motion Picture Expert Group NAB National Association of Broadcasters NPHC National Population and Housing Census PAD Programme Associated Data RCC-06 The 2006 Regional Radio-Communication Conference ii RF Radio Frequency UBOS Uganda Bureau of Statistics UNBS Uganda National Bureau of Standards UNHS Uganda National Household Survey UCC Uganda Communications Commission iii Table of Contents Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................................... iv Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................... viii 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Objectives of the study .............................................................................................................. 1 1.3 Digital Audio Broadcasting Technology overview .............................................................. 2 1.3.1 DAB Network layout .................................................................................................. 2 1.3.2 DAB Family of Standards .......................................................................................... 4 1.4 Advantages and Challenges of DAB ...................................................................................... 5 1.4.1 Advantages of DAB .................................................................................................... 5 1.4.2 Challenges with DAB ................................................................................................. 8 1.5 DAB Receivers ............................................................................................................................ 9 1.5.1 DAB radio receivers and receiver profiles .............................................................. 9 1.5.2 DAB Radio in Cars .................................................................................................. 910 1.5.3 DAB Radio over phone ............................................................................................ 11 1.6 Status of DAB deployment around the world ..................................................................... 11 2 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................. 13 3 INTERNATION EXPERIENCES ON DAB INTRODUCTION/MIGRATION ............................ 19 3.1 International DAB Experiences ............................................................................................. 19 3.1.1 South Africa DAB Experience ................................................................................. 19 3.1.2 United Kingdom DAB Experience ......................................................................... 22 iv 3.1.3 Germany DAB Experience ....................................................................................... 26 3.1.4 Australia DAB Experience ....................................................................................... 28 3.1.5 Challenges to implementation and uptake of DAB – UK Example ................... 33 4 ASSESSING UGANDA’S READINESS FOR DAB ........................................................................... 36 4.1 Infrastructure requirements for DAB network .................................................................... 36 4.1.1 Option 1: DAB site-sharing with Digital TV ......................................................... 36 4.1.2 Option 2: DAB Signal Distribution via the NBI .................................................... 37 4.2 Policy, Legal and Regulatory framework ............................................................................ 39 4.3 Harmonizing DAB with regional and International Obligations ..................................... 42 4.3.1 The Institutional framework for DAB introduction ............................................. 44 4.4 Market readiness, Structures and Interventions required for DAB ................................. 47 4.4.1 How DAB affects the Radio Market Structure ...................................................... 47 4.4.2 FM radio broadcasters’ views on DAB .................................................................. 49 4.4.2.1 Support for introduction of DAB among FM radio operators ....................... 49 4.4.2.2 Signal distribution network sub-system run as a single entity ...................... 50 4.4.2.3 Proposed incentives required for successful introduction of DAB in Uganda – by radio operators ..................................................................................................................... 51 4.4.2.4 The perceived impact of introducing DAB on radio broadcasting business 51 4.4.3 FM Radio listeners views on DAB .......................................................................... 52 4.4.3.1 Value of radio service to households ................................................................. 52 4.4.3.2 Existing challenges with Analogue radio services ........................................... 53 4.4.4 Financial Feasibility of acquiring DAB Radio receivers .................................. 5453 4.4.4.1 Current Cost of Analogue radio receiver sets ................................................... 54 v 4.4.4.2 Affordability of a DAB Radio Receiver ......................................................... 5554 4.4.4.3 End-user willingness and ability to pay subscription fees for DAB .............. 56 4.4.4.4 Affordable monthly subscription fee for DAB ................................................. 56 4.4.4.5 Listeners Proposed Incentives for making DAB introduction successful..... 57 4.4.5 Consultations with other key Market Stakeholders ............................................. 57 4.4.5.1 Uganda National Bureau of Standards .............................................................. 57 4.4.5.2 Kampala City Traders’ Association (KACITA) ................................................ 58 4.4.5.3 Kampala Capital City Authority ........................................................................ 59 5 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL DAB INTRODUCTION IN UGANDA ............... 61 5.1 Recommendation on the version of DAB to implement .................................................... 61 5.2 Recommendations on infrastructure .................................................................................... 61 5.3 Recommendations on institutional framework ................................................................... 62 5.4 Recommendations on policy, legal and regulatory framework........................................ 63 5.5 Recommendations on market development and Universal access .................................. 63 5.6 Learnings from Uganda’s Digital TV Migration Experience ............................................ 64 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................ 66 APPENDIX 1: KEY STAKEHOLDERS CONSULTED ............................................................................. 68 APPENDIX 2: DAB RECEIVER PROFILES ............................................................................................... 70 APPENDIX 3: DAB COUNTRY EXPERIENCES – EXTENDED LIST ................................................... 72 APPENDIX 4: DIGITAL SOUND BROADCASTING TECHNOLOGIES ............................................. 79 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1-1: DAB Network architecture - Adopted from [2] ..................................................................... 3 Figure 1-2: DAB network architecture with communication channels ................................................... 3 Figure 1-3: Map showing status of DAB deployment worldwide......................................................... 12 Figure 4-1: Signet DTV Transmitting sites that can be updgraded for DAB network usage ............ 36 Figure 4-2: NITA-U National infrastructure backbone routes ............................................................... 38 Figure 4-3: DAB value chain ....................................................................................................................... 48 Figure 4-4: Operators' DAB Structure preferences .................................................................................