Prasar Bharati on Saturday said that it has phased out 70 per cent of analog Terrestrial TV Transmitters in a bid to pave the way for emerging technologies and new content opportunities. It added that with the exception of around 50 analog terrestrial TV transmitters in strategic locations, the rest will be phased out by March 31, 2022.

The Public broadcaster said that phasing out analog Terrestrial TV Transmitters since 2017 has generated about ₹100 crore of savings in operating expenditure annually.

Also see: Doordarshan’s free-to-air channels spark a dish war

Now, it plans to phase out 412 transmitters by the end of the 2021-22.

“Analog Terrestrial TV is an obsolete technology and phaseout of the same is in both public interest and national interest as it makes valuable spectrum available for new and emerging technologies such as 5G apart from reducing wasteful expenditure on power. So far, almost 70 per cent of all Analog Transmitters have been phased out. Rest are being sunset in a phased manner while ensuring appropriate measures are taken for re-deployment of manpower,” it said in a statement.

Next Gen Broadcast solution

The public broadcaster added that it has entered into an MoU with IIT Kanpur to develop Next Gen Broadcast solution and roadmap for Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting consistent with emerging standards such as 5G Broadcast to enable new applications such as Direct-to-Mobile broadcasting, and to create new content opportunities through the use of artificial intelligence algorithms.

Through DD FreeDish DTH, all Doordarshan channels including DD Assam and several private channels have been made available by Prasar Bharati, free of cost with no monthly fees throughout India, the statement added.

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