Implementation of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) in the Dominican Republic
Dominican
By Gabriela Beltré Acosta

For a long time, terrestrial hertzian waves were the only means of broadcasting radio and television.

Subsequently, technological advances brought with them other modes of broadcasting, such as cable, which allowed the distribution of various services, and satellite, which allowed direct broadcasting to private recipients. Each of these modes of transmission is marked by specific legal characteristics that arise from its very nature.

The most recent technical change or advancement is digital broadcasting, which complements the older methods of television and radio broadcasting, but at the same time replaces the standard of analog broadcasting.

This fact represents a true revolution in the way we consume audiovisual media.

Since the Hertzian space is a scarce resource, whose possibility of exploitation is increasingly exhausted, the main objective of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) is the release of space in the radio frequency spectrum and the consequent multiplication of broadcasting channels, overcoming the limitations posed by the analogue broadcasting mode and thus generating a surplus of spectrum known as sub-
frequency bands or “digital dividend”.

There are different systems or platforms used for the implementation of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), namely: ATSC (Advanced Television System Committee) used by the United States of America, Canada, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and soon by the Dominican Republic; ISDBT (Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting) used in Japan; ISDBT-tb, a variant of the Japanese system used in Brazil, and many Latin American countries such as Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Guatemala. Likewise, we can highlight DTMB (Digital Terrestrial Multimedia Broadcast) used in the People's Republic of China; DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial / Digital Video Broadcasting) used throughout Europe, in Australia, in some African countries such as South Africa, Namibia, and in Latin America only in Colombia and Panama.

Thanks to the multiplexing mechanism of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), six television channels or programs can be broadcast simultaneously on the frequency previously used by a single television channel; this is known as a "digital multiplex" or "multiplex."

Furthermore, Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) provides higher-quality image and sound reception, as well as a broader range of services for all users within its coverage area.

The implementation of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) represents a technical evolution in television broadcasting in our country. It seeks to promote greater market participation by public telecommunications service providers, which could translate into improved offerings for users in terms of technology, quality, cost, and variety.

Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) allows reducing spectrum occupation
radioelectric thanks to the use of more efficient modulations, obtaining better image and sound quality, providing interactivity to audiovisual communication between user and service operator ("Video On Demand", "pay per view", among other transactions).

Likewise, Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) would reduce broadcasters' energy consumption, since the transmitters used for DTT require less power to transmit signals. It would also reduce operating costs for broadcasting and transmission, once the adaptation costs have been amortized.

The goal is therefore to maximize the use of the radio spectrum, creating opportunities for broader competition not only for audiovisual communication service operators, but also for telephone and internet service providers.

This mission, to launch the establishment of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), is reserved to the Dominican Institute of Telecommunications (INDOTEL), the body empowered to manage the radio spectrum, as well as to plan the Hertzian spectrum bands for radio stations and the allocation of broadcast channels to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) operators.

It is in this sense that the telecommunications regulatory body in our country, the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (INDOTEL), decided to consider the need to evolve towards the digital terrestrial broadcasting model on January 12, 2006, approving Resolution No. 003-06, by which the Interinstitutional Committee for the Transition from Analog to Digital Radio and Television in the Dominican Republic was created.

Later, on August 2, 2010, the Board of Directors of the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (INDOTEL), pursuant to Resolution No. 102-10, approved the conclusions contained in the technical report prepared in order to recommend the adoption of the digital television standard in our country, as part of the transition process from analog television broadcasting to digital broadcasting.

Thus, on August 9, 2010, through Decree No. 407-10, the establishment of the North American ATSC (Advanced Television System Committee) model was ordered as the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) standard to be implemented in the Dominican Republic, establishing the date for the "analog switch-off" to occur on September 1, 2015, that is, within 2 years and 9 months.

telecommunications services in general, even giving way to the participation of new public and private actors.

Similarly, it is worth noting that the implementation of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) in our country will result in a change in the economic model of audiovisual media production, which will require financial support from advertisers to ensure its sustainability over time.

The above presents a challenge for program producers and editors.
audiovisual media to the extent that the multiplication of dissemination channels will not necessarily entail the multiplication of private and public investment.
Furthermore, we must consider the need to establish a Higher Audiovisual Council, which would be responsible for granting authorizations for the use of the radio spectrum to audiovisual communication service operators, taking into account not only technical and economic criteria, but also criteria associated with the quality of the content broadcast.

Finally, the deployment of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) must create the conditions for the establishment of a technologically effective system that reaches all
Dominican households, which increases the chances of free competition in the
market, which guarantees higher quality of the content disseminated, as well as, greater
diversity and information pluralism.

Recommendations:
Without this list being exhaustive, it is recommended:
a. Provide uniqueness to the language used to identify Digital Television
Terrestrial (DTT).
b. Create the Technical Plan for the establishment of Digital Terrestrial Television
(TDT) in the Dominican Republic, determining, among other things, the coverage
gradual thereof.
c. Design the National Plan for the Transition to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT).
d. Design the technical and application regulations for Digital Terrestrial Television
(TDT) to provide, among other things, the following:
- Specify the conditions for authorization to use the Hertzian spectrum
necessary for the broadcast of any digital terrestrial television service.
- Authorize audiovisual communication service operators the right to
use of a second frequency in digital mode under the established conditions
by the Dominican Institute of Telecommunications (INDOTEL).
- Create a sort of anti-concentration device aimed at regulating the issue of
limit on authorizations per specific geographical area, in order to avoid abuse

Publication 004.

Implementation of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) in the Dominican Republic

By Gabriela Beltré Acosta

For a long time, terrestrial hertzian waves were the only means of broadcasting radio and television.
Later, technological advances brought with them other modes of broadcasting, such as cable, which allowed the distribution of various services, and satellite, which allowed direct broadcasting to private recipients, each of these being marked
modes of transmission due to specific legal characteristics that arise from their
very nature. The most recent technical change or advancement turns out to be digital diffusion, which comes to
complement the old mechanisms of television and radio broadcasting, but at the same time, replace the standard of analog broadcasting.
This fact represents a true revolution in the way we consume audiovisual media. Given that space is a scarce resource, the potential for its exploitation is
increasingly exhausted, Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) has as its main objective the
freeing up space in the radio frequency spectrum and the consequent
multiplication of diffusion channels, overcoming the limitations posed by the
analogue broadcast mode and thus generating a surplus of spectrum known as sub-
frequency bands or “digital dividend”.
There are different systems or platforms used for the implementation of the
Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), namely: ATSC (Advanced Television System)
Committee/ Advanced Television Systems Committee) used by the United States of America
North America, Canada, Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and soon the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic; ISDBT (Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting)
Integrated Services Board) used in Japan; ISDBT-tb, a variant of the Japanese system used
in Brazil, and much of the Latin American countries, such as Peru, Argentina,
Uruguay, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Bolivia, Nicaragua,
Guatemala.
Likewise, we can highlight the DTMB (Digital Terrestrial Multimedia Broadcast /
Digital Terrestrial Multimedia Broadcasting) used in the People's Republic of China; DVB-T
(Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial / Digital Video Broadcasting) used throughout the world
European continent, in Australia, in some African countries, such as South Africa,
Namibia, and in Latin America only in Colombia and Panama.
Thanks to the multiplexing mechanism of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), in the
frequency previously used by a single television channel, 6 channels may be broadcast or
television programs simultaneously; this is what is known as "multi-channel"
"digital" or "multiplex".

Furthermore, Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) provides higher quality image and sound reception, as well as a broader range of services for all users within its coverage area. The implementation of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) constitutes a technical evolution in television broadcasting in our country, which seeks to promote better
participation of public telecommunications service providers in the
market, which could translate into a better offer for users, in terms of technology, quality, cost and variety. Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) allows reducing the occupation of the radioelectric spectrum thanks to the use of more efficient modulations, obtaining a better
image and sound quality, providing interactivity to audiovisual communication between user and service operator ("Video On Demand", "pay per view").
view” -pay to see, to play, to learn-, among other transactions).
Likewise, Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) would reduce the energy consumption of broadcasters, since the transmitters used by DTT require less
power for signal transmission. It would also reduce operating costs for broadcasting and transmission, once the adaptation costs have been amortized.
It is therefore a question of maximizing the use of the radio spectrum, giving opportunity to broader competition not only for communication service operators
audiovisual, but also for telephone and internet service operators. This mission, to launch the establishment of Digital Terrestrial Television
(TDT), is reserved for the Dominican Telecommunications Institute
(INDOTEL), the body empowered to manage the radio spectrum, as well as to plan the Hertzian spectrum bands for radio stations and the allocation of broadcasting channels to Digital Television operators.
Terrestrial (DTT). It is in this sense that the telecommunications regulatory body in our country, the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (INDOTEL), decided to consider the need to evolve towards the terrestrial digital broadcasting model on January 12, 2006, approving Resolution No. 003-06, by which the Interinstitutional Committee for the Transition from Analogue to Digital Television was created.
Digital in the Dominican Republic. Later, on August 2, 2010, the Board of Directors of the Dominican Institute of
Telecommunications (INDOTEL), pursuant to Resolution No. 102-10, was required to approve the conclusions contained in the technical report prepared to recommend the adoption of the digital television standard in our country, as part of the transition process from analog television broadcasting to digital broadcasting. Thus, on August 9, 2010, by Decree No. 407-10, the establishment of the North American ATSC (Advanced Television System Committee) model was ordered as the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) standard to be implemented in the Dominican Republic, establishing September 1, 2015, i.e., within 2 years and 9 months, as the date for the "analog switch-off."

In order to take the first steps towards the implementation of this new television broadcasting model, the Board of Directors of the Dominican Institute of
Telecommunications (INDOTEL) issues Resolution No. 145-12 dated November 8, 2012, by which it appoints the internal commission that will work on the implementation process of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) in the Dominican Republic.

With the digital broadcasting mechanism, the radio-electric source allows the broadcasting of a greater number of programs than those broadcast by analog means, allowing the
digitalization of signals, the broadcasting of 6 different programs in the same frequency band - maximum possible dividends of the same band -, in addition to the
cohabitation of several telecommunications services on the same frequency.

Thus, three situations arise that generate different frequency allocation and authorization regimes, namely: 1.

Authorization to operators of
public communication services; 2.

Authorization of existing private operators; and

3. Authorization of new service operators.
The first group is made up of public communication service operators, for whom the law must guarantee a right of priority or privilege of
allocation of new frequency sub-bands, to the extent that such entities
They carry out a general utility service mission, that is, television channels that are
are limited to cultural dissemination (theater, cinema, music, shows), history, news,
sports, as well as channels aimed at children and youth, whose reception would be free for Dominicans.

The second group is made up of audiovisual communication service operators who already have an authorization to operate their frequency in mode
analog; such authorization for digital broadcasting would then be similar to the
initial authorization, constituting an extension of this in legal terms. The
Private operators could also develop the business of thematic channels within the aforementioned broadcasting genres, to be received by users.
under the condition of subscription to said service.
In the third group are the new operators (this category also includes
Operators of services other than television or radio) who must undergo a special bidding process depending on the category of service, whether local or national.
It corresponds to the Dominican Institute of Telecommunications (INDOTEL) on the one hand,
Ensure an effective transition from the analogue model to the digital one, which integrates both audiovisual communication service operators and the entire population.
Dominican; and on the other hand, regulate the procedure and requirements for the
authorizations under the new Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) model. We understand that from a technical point of view, the establishment of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) must deploy a multiplicity of channels that
We hope that this will benefit the dissemination of audiovisual services, and that the freed-up space in the Hertzian spectrum can be used by telecommunications service operators in general, even giving way to participation.
of new public and private actors.

Similarly, it should be noted that the process of implementing Television
Digital Terrestrial (DTT) in our country will result in a change in the model
economic production in audiovisual media, which will involve the need to
financial support from advertisers, which allows for its sustainability
in time.
The above presents a challenge for program producers and editors.
audiovisuals to the extent that the multiplication of broadcasting channels does not
will necessarily entail the multiplication of private and public investment.
On the other hand, we will have to consider the need to establish a Higher Council
Audiovisual, which would be in charge of granting authorizations for the use of the
radio spectrum to audiovisual communication service operators,
taking into consideration criteria, not only of a technical and economic nature, but also,
criteria associated with the quality of the content disseminated.
Finally, the deployment of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) must create the conditions
for the establishment of a technologically effective system that reaches all
Dominican households, which increases the chances of free competition in the
market, which guarantees higher quality of the content disseminated, as well as, greater
diversity and information pluralism.

Recommendations:
Without this list being exhaustive, it is recommended:
a. Provide uniqueness to the language used to identify Digital Television
Terrestrial (DTT).
b. Create the Technical Plan for the establishment of Digital Terrestrial Television
(TDT) in the Dominican Republic, determining, among other things, the coverage
gradual thereof.
c. Design the National Plan for the Transition to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT).
d. Design the technical and application regulations for Digital Terrestrial Television
(TDT) to provide, among other things, the following:
- Specify the conditions for authorization to use the Hertzian spectrum
necessary for the broadcast of any digital terrestrial television service.
- Authorize audiovisual communication service operators the right to
use of a second frequency in digital mode under the established conditions
by the Dominican Institute of Telecommunications (INDOTEL).
- Create a sort of anti-concentration device aimed at regulating the issue of
limit on authorizations per specific geographical area, in order to avoid abuse

of the dominant position of some operators in the market of the
telecommunications.
- Ensure the continuity of reception of the television service, in order to avoid
that the analogue blackout leaves users without this service.
advises replicating emissions through the digital dividend.
- Establish a deadline for all televisions sold in the country
are provided with an adapter or decoder that allows reception of the
Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) service, both for all programs
free in high definition, as well as those in standard definition.
e. Launch a national communication campaign to ensure that
users are informed about the consequences of the extinction of the
broadcasting of the audiovisual communication service in analog mode and of the
Deployment of the modern audiovisual broadcasting platform of Television
Digital Terrestrial (DTT).
f. Publish a list of the frequency bands available in each area
geographic location of the country for the television and radio service broadcast via
terrestrial Hertzian.
g. Call for public tender or competition for the exploitation of the spectrum
radioelectric by companies (legal entities).
h. Set a limit on the allocation of new frequencies for operators of
public audiovisual communication services, so that the rest of the
frequency sub-bands are available to be assigned to
private operators.