Time running out for radio transition
THE PLANNED transition of radio broadcasting from analog to the digital system seems in serious danger of being postponed, with the term of the incumbent broadcasting committee at the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission due to expire n
“In this remaining time, until our term expires on September 30 next year, we are supposed to prepare and revise necessary plans for the incoming panel,” Supinya Klangnarong, a member of the NBTC’s broadcasting committee, said recently.
The optimisation of radio frequencies through a broadcasting transition from analog to digital technology is among those key plans, which have been delayed since last year from what was set out under the original Broadcasting Master Plan (2012-16).
Supinya explained that the broadcasting committee having just 17 months left might not be sufficient time for it to bring all crucial aspects to fruition.
Meanwhile, the planned digitisation of nationwide radio broadcasting appears could have a huge impact on the industry and the state agencies that currently hold analog frequencies for radio broadcasting concessions, she said.
Apart from the plan for digital radio broadcasting, the launch of community-based digital terrestrial-TV broadcasting might also face a major impact, due to the delay of analog TV’s switch-off and the low penetration of digital TV receivers around the country, she added.
“However, we hope that the new broadcasting panel will carry forward and turn those key policies into action.”
Supinya made these remarks at a public forum, “Two Years of Digital Terrestrial TV Broadcasting in Thailand: How to Move Forward”, held recently by the journalism and mass communications faculty of Thammasat University.
Last year, the NBTC joined with eight state agencies in a test-run of digital radio broadcasting, but the results are still to be concluded.
The experiment used the existing infrastructure of the Armed Forces, as well as the separate infrastructures of the Army, Navy and Air Force, the National Police, the Public Relations Department, the Secretariat of the House of Representatives, and MCOT.
The test was aimed at furthering research on the feasibility of digital radio, which will be transmitted over the very high frequency (VHF) band, some of which carries analog terrestrial-TV broadcasts.
Another objective was to raise public awareness about digital radio broadcasting, which will have an impact on everyone in the country.
To ensure sufficient VHF bandwidth for digital radio broadcasting in the near future, Natee Sukonrat, chairman of the broadcasting committee, said in a previous interview that the transition to digital radio would be in tandem with the analog-TV switch-off process.
