Major setback for Brazil DSO
January 26, 2016
By Chris Forrester
Brazil has abandoned plans to switch off its analogue TV transmissions.
Girod, the operation charged with co-ordinating the adoption of digital TV, has decided to let the already ‘late’ date of 2018 to slip further to 2023. This means that Brazil will hold the unenviable record of being the largest and most important nation to adopt all-digital TV, and significantly later than the ITU’s global target of June 2015 (although some TV frequencies in certain countries can remain in use until 2020).
However, according to the ITU’s latest data Brazil is not alone. War-torn Yemen is also delayed, as is Afghanistan and Barbados as well as a slew of Latin American nations including Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela.
The Brazilian delayed adoption is not entirely hopeless. Digital TV is already available from DTH satellite, and some key Brazilian cities do have digital TV available (including Brasilia and Rio Verde) and are expected to see analogue switched off in 2018.
By and large the 700 MHz spectrum band is being speedily freed up in order that successful cellular bidders to the recent $1.16 billion spectrum auction can start deploying services.