July 28, 2009
The full transition to terrestrial digital TV broadcasting
| There are two years left until the full transition to terrestrial digital TV broadcasting occurs. According to a survey conducted by the Internal Affairs and the Communications Ministry (IACM), the household diffusion rate for digital TVs, as of March 2009, was 60.7% for 30.35 million households. Terrestrial digital TV broadcasting started in the Tokyo metropolitan area in 2003. TV stations concurrently broadcast the same digital programs with analog signals to protect the interest of analog TV viewers; however, analog broadcasts will be completely terminated on July 24, 2011. Digital TV instruments are included in the government’s "eco point" policy, which officially began in May, as a major economic stimulus measure giving consumers up to 36,000 points (equivalent to 36,000 yen ($300 US dollars) and entitling them to use the points for their next purchase. According to Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association, 1.08 million flat-screen digital TV sets were sold in June. This was an increase of 25% when compared to the same month last year and the fourth-largest number ever sold in a month. On the other hand, the government is facing a reception dilemma in urban housing complexes. Currently, about 6 million households cannot properly receive digital TV broadcasts because neighborhood high-rise buildings interfere with the reception. To cope with this problem, owners are being asked to replace the receiving antenna and install a new one for receiving digital broadcasting. At the end of March, 11.4% have complied. In addition, setting up antennas in housing complexes, which are approximately two million houses in the entire country, has been delayed. By the end of March, 78% of the housing complexes in Saitama Prefecture, and 86% in Tokyo were still not ready to receive terrestrial digital broadcasting. It may be necessary for old condominiums to change the cables for transmitting frequencies from the community antenna to each household or to replace terminal connecters with TV's. It is estimated to cost more than 50,000 yen ($500 US dollars) per household for these replacements to occur. This is why many privately owned apartments are reluctant to make changes. The central government will assist those who are economically challenged, such as households that are exempt from paying NHK TV reception fees, by issuing a simple tuner for receiving terrestrial digital TV broadcasts. The government will also offer limited subsidies to upgrade joint receiving facilities via the communications ministry's support center for TV viewers, according to the needs of each prefecture. The transition to terrestrial digital TV broadcasting is a national policy and the central government is going to invest 300 billion yen (3 billion US dollars) in 9 years. |
