Terrestrial TV broadcasting - what next?
Valentin Hlebnikov

The Laws of the Russian Federation On Mass Media and On Communications are a legal basis for TV and radio broadcasting existing in Russia. The foundation for liberalization of broadcasting was laid by the Decree signed by the President of the USSR in 1990. Now there are about 3,000 TV companies registered in the country.

Technical basis for the TV programs transmission system was laid in the 70s-80s of the last century. At that time powerful TV and radio broadcasting centers, thousands of transposers with corresponding infrastructures (roads, communication lines, power grids, water-supply lines and canalization, heat supply), and tower-type antennas were built. In order to broadcast on transmitters, relay lines were built, and grouping of domestic communication satellites were involved. All this powerful system supports state broadcasting sector and provides a basis for all non-state TV and radio broadcasters. Only few out of several hundred broadcasting companies were able to build their own objects performing such functions.

There are about 15,000 TV and 3,000 radio transmitters broadcasting in Russia now. They mainly support state broadcasting sector. ORT, RTR, and Kultura channels have 6,000, 5,000, and 350 transmitters respectively. Radio Rossiya has 1,000 transmitters, Mayak has 440 transmitters.

Most transmitters are home-manufactured. Recently some non-state companies have purchased and installed certain amount of TV and radio transmitters of foreign manufacture. Most transmitting devices broadcasting ORT and state programs have worked out their own resource, and 60-70% (depending on the model) of the transmitters need to be replaced immediately. The question about the type of transmitters and their manufacturers arises. It is necessary to replace 12 thousand TV and 2 thousand radio (including 1500 FM) transmitters within 6 years. The delivery volume will make 200 million US dollars per year.

In 2000 a milestone event in the sphere of telecommunication happened: the President of the Russian Federation together with other world industrial countries' leaders signed the Global Information Society Charter at the meeting that was held in Okinawa, Japan. For the strategy of joining the Global Information Society in 2002-2006 to be realized, such documents as The Concept of Development of the Telecommunication Equipment Market of the Russian Federation for 2001...2010, the federal program Electronic Russia, Development of Common Educational Informational Sphere for 2002...2006, A Doctrine for the Informational Security of the Russian Federation were passed. Realization of this aim is connected with creation and integration of modern telecommunicational technologies. But there is no national state program for modernization and development of TV and radio networks yet.

Russia's joining WTO has become a reality. But what is the future of Russian telecommunications and, in particular, what changes will come along in broadcasting networks, home factories producing TV and radio transmitters? Too many questions, and with the unclear answers. We expect to win owing to the existence of the world trade's common rules: the idea of free trade is laid as a basis in the WTO conception, i.e. all countries' goods can freely penetrate any territories. Will the broadcasters and operators win? Most likely they will. But it is absolutely clear that domestic manufacturers will find themselves in quite a different situation. First, they will have to hold their position in the home market. Second, they will have a chance to enter the foreign market. The only way is to improve quality and reliability of the products, with the price reduced, and to master production of new equipment with novel services. Domestic developers and manufacturers' survival and the industry's preservation depend on how they will manage the above-mentioned tasks, and on how fast they will rebuild their production basis, and, especially, on whether they will be able to draw investments for such forced reconstruction.

Domestic industry has completely stopped manufacturing all types of TV and radio broadcasting equipment for programs production, such as video cameras, videotape recorders, assembly complexes, etc.; but TV and radio transmitters are still being manufactured in the country, and the domestic industry has enough engineering potentialities to deliver quite competitive equipment for broadcasting centers in the necessary volume. But this industry requires serious state support and government work in order to develop and manufacture, in the necessary amount, modern transmitters of different modifications, including those for digital broadcasting.

Market capacity of TV and radio program broadcasting means is characterized not only by the necessity of replacing the obsolete equipment, but also by the necessity of further developing multi program TV and radio broadcasting. There is the task of intense developing the state channel Kultura's broadcasting network. The Center TV and other net channels' networks are in the process of balanced development. Many bodies of the Russian Federation create their own regional TV companies and develop regional TV channel networks. There are all the necessary prerequisites for appearance of circular TV and radio stations within the bounds of the Federal districts. The field of thematic TV channels and of their networks is practically vacant.

If compared with some leading industrial countries, with regard to multi program television, Russia, with its social and economic peculiarities and the population's ability, is a great field for development of, first of all, on-air terrestrial broadcasting. Now coverage of population by terrestrial TV broadcasting is characterized by the following indices:

• 98,3% of the population watch one and more programs;
• 96,7% of the population watch two and more programs;
• 69,7% of the population watch three and more programs;
• 50,7% of the population watch four and more programs;
• 33,3% of the population watch five and more programs.

The programs of regional state TV companies can be watched by 84,5% of the population. The inhabitants of 10,000 localities are not able to receive any TV programs.

As the electronic media structure changes; as TV programs formatting, transmitting and receiving techniques improve; and as they become combined with broadcasting of other types of information, the state and social interest in broadcasting is likely to grow.

In 2001 a serious structural change happened in the broadcast industry: the President of Russia signed the Decree #1031 by August 13th 2001, which founded Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network (RTRS), a federal state unitary enterprise. It emerged as a result of separation from VGTRK of all state and non-state program broadcasters, i.e. all regional TV and radio broadcasting centers. The main RTRS strategy is to develop, present to the Government and realize the federal object program for the industry's modernization and development. Another important task of RTRS is integrating power and alternative technologies. For instance, it is necessary to consider further usage of Ilmen-type TV transmitters of 20 kW. Most of these transmitters have not developed their own resource yet; therefore their exploitation is pretty expensive. Only KU-318 powerful output klystrons' costs make 3 million Russian rubles per year. When output power is 20 kW and power consumption is 120 kW annual electric power costs make from 700 thousand to 3 million rubles. At the same time, Ilmen-type transmitters may be replaced by domestic transmitters of 5-10 kW with performance factor up to 30%, with the former coverage area retained, provided the antenna-feeder channel is modernized. Such replace costs can be paid back within 1 or 2 years.

The wish to quickly give up using outmoded equipment and get to modern technologies is easy to understand. But it is a long-term strategy. Now, in the real economic situation, it is necessary to continue working on equipment modernization, broadcasting improvement, costs reduction, and extension of services' range. This also refers to radio transmitters. Now 1,600 transmitters are broadcasting within the USW band (66...74 MHz), being mainly state stations broadcasting in mono. The lack of stereo channels distributing programs onto transmitters is the main reason of stereophonic broadcasting being unavailable. Now VGTRK is considering the question about Radio Rossiya, Mayak, and Yunost programs' starting broadcasting through satellite stereophonic channels. USW transmitters of 66...74 MHz should also be replaced and modernized.

Within the long- and middle waves bands state broadcasting uses about 200 transmitters, mainly powerful and with great power consumption. Since state channels carry political and social tasks first of all, they cannot but broadcast within these bands. But there are ways of LMW transmitters exploitation costs reducing. Considerable economy (up to 50%) of the electric power used can be achieved by integrating new engineering solutions, i.e. dynamic carrier frequency control, multiharmonic (biharmonic) mode and others. Research completion and development of documentation on transmitters' modernization (in key generators' realization of multiharmonic load, integration of increased efficiency modulators, etc.) will enlarge service life of expensive valves and improve broadcasting. By preliminary estimate, the integration of the above mentioned devices will allow saving up to 300 million rubles per year for transmitters' exploitation.

Another aim in the strategy of improving broadcasting within medium waves band is integration of synchronous broadcasting. Creation of synchronous medium waves networks will allow reducing the total power of transmitters in a synchronous network, in comparison with the power of a single transmitter, broadcasting on the same territory. This results in a considerable shortening of electric power demand, up to 10 times. Not only Federal, but also, and especially, regional channels are interested in such work.

Another task that has to be singled out is retention of programs broadcasting for the village, where broadcasting has been done through wired networks. In the last 10 years the amount of wired receivers has more than twice reduced (from 47,6 million to 23,6 million). For countryside, where wired broadcasting is fully unprofitable and cannot be supported by communication organizations, programs within 66...74 MHz and 87,5...108 MHz bands are planned to be transferred into off-air reception. Giprosvyaz OAO Company has created a wire broadcasting development program for the bodies of the Russian Federation for the period until 2010. This program includes schematic maps and investment accounts of on-air broadcasting development in the countryside for each body. This way, the volume of investment for Central Federal District amounts 148,7 million rubles. But these developments were made for single-program networks. In 2001 Moscow Technical University of Communications and Informatics (MTUSI) and OKTOD Company developed and tested equipment that allows broadcasting three monophonic programs through one transmitter in USW band. Wide-scale integration of low-powered USW-transmitters and multiplexer combiners will solve the problem of a three-program broadcasting in the countryside for the lost wire broadcasting.

Migration to digital broadcasting is a modern trend in the world TV broadcasting development now. Advantages of digital broadcasting are known to all. The Concept of the terrestrial digital TV and radio broadcasting integration, passed by the Ministry of Communications, sets three stages in integrating new technologies. Full transition to the digital TV broadcasting will take - according to the Concept - from 12 to 14 years. I think this supposition is too optimistic. The most conservative link is TVs whose total number in the country makes 90 million units. All TV population will require replacement. Now the development of domestic digital TV transmitters, led within "Multichannel" research program, has already been finished. New domestic digital transmitters have been developed and installed in Nizhniy Novgorod and Saint Petersburg; their trial operation is being run at the moment. There are demands for digital terrestrial broadcasting organization from various regions. As a result a question arises: Which transmitters, analog or digital, will replace the outmoded analog ones? But, along with the upcoming digital broadcasting, analog terrestrial broadcasting will exist for quite a long time, up to 20 years. The "Multichannel" research program has given the answer. In the transition period there must be new hybrid transmitters: transmitters capable of allowing broadcasting digital signal while operating as analog transmitters. In the process of migration to digital broadcasting it is not the whole transmitter that is to be replaced, but only input and output devices. New TV sets should also be hybrid: being analog TVs they should admit installment of a digital board or of an add-on device.

The situation with the digital radio broadcasting in Russia is rather specific and vague. In accordance with the Ministry of Communications' decision the Concept of digital sound broadcasting by the Evrika-147/DAB system for terrestrial digital broadcasting within 174...204 MHz band has been passed in the country. But there have not been taken any real steps as in the situation with terrestrial digital TV broadcasting.

Russia is extremely interested in another system of digital sound broadcasting: Digital Radio Mondiale in AM band (long, medium, and short waves). Testing made in Moscow within MW band and on the Irkutsk-Japan track within SW band, showed perfect broadcasting quality, approximate to the USW-broadcasting. The creation of test zones and commercial broadcasting are next on the list.

The main problems are connected with economics. Private companies do not get a move on investing into digital broadcasting because of the reasonable fear (first of all, because the receivers are not on sale and because of their high cost) to loose the audience and never recover their investments. And they will not join the digital radio broadcasting while there is a standard FM resource in the country. The government and budget broadcasters ought to become main funding sources, like it was in Europe. But one hardly can expect any budgetary financing before 100% of the population has been reached by state radio broadcasting. Now the situation is as follows:

• Radio Rossiya reaches 98% of the population;
• Mayak reaches 90 % of the population;
• Yunost reaches 32% of the population.

There is no doubt that tomorrow is with digital radio broadcasting; but the process of its recognition in Russia is not that fast as it was expected. The consumers accepting digital radio broadcasting depends on how they are informed; on how much the programs are attractive; and on whether digital receivers are available or not. It is reasonable to start by creating test zones in the regions where besides the mentioned requirements there should be also social and economic prerequisites. And, of course, - this is typical of Russia - things won't make progress without a serious decision made at the governmental level with involving industry, operators, broadcasters, budgetary financing. At the same time, if remaining analog, radio broadcasting will not be able to survive as an independent unit and is likely to be integrated into DVB-T, or into Internet, or into third generation cell systems (IMTS), or into multimedia cable systems.

Answering the main question, the question about the future of the terrestrial broadcasting in Russia, in general, it is possible to say that it will depend on successful development of the social, political, and economic reforms in the country. Success in telecommunications, including TV broadcasting, will depend on the development of service market and on the situation in domestic telecommunication equipment market. All the participants of these processes, the government, the industry, operators, broadcasters have been rather passive in the last decade.

Among the objectives of the State are state regulation improvement, domestic market protection, Russian manufacturer support, and the State's close participation in the realization of the main asks connected with hardware creation.

What equipment, domestic or foreign, the operators and broadcasters will purchase depends on the industrial enterprises. Most TV broadcasting enterprises are legging behind operators and broadcasters' needs, and their work is not systematically organized. They do not understand or are afraid of understanding the coming changes; they do not work on adaptation to the changes in the service and equipment market; and they do not do R and D work. Structural rearrangement is required, organizational, technological, economic; without it, and without state support a billion market of TV and radio broadcasting transmitting equipment may be lost, and therefore this domestic industry may die as it happened to the studio facilities industry.

In selecting equipment manufacturer, the operators and broadcasters should be guided by certain patriotism and strategic planning rather than by momentary commercial interests. Besides they have to put tasks before the government and industry, and this is to be done by the state operators and broadcasters including, of course, the largest ones: the Russian TV and Radio Broadcasting Network, the All-Russian State TV and Radio Company (VGTRK), and ORT.

All stated in the conclusive part of the article may seem a declaration. But a great experience of working in large broadcasting systems, ministries, companies, and enterprises, as well as an experience in creating and modernizing the country's broadcasting system proves that the only way to succeed is for all the interested parties to join their efforts and to show enough energies and enthusiasm.

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