Transition to digital broadcasting in Azerbaijan

"This will be possible in a month - after installing relevant equipment of MPEG-4standard," the Ministry said.

The Ministry said that there are currently four programs being broadcast by one channel.
The broadcasting will be carried out mainly in Baku, in Absheron Peninsula and later in other regions of Azerbaijan.

Under recommendations of the International Telecommunication Union, all countries, including Azerbaijan, should fully switch to digital broadcasting by 2015.

The program of transition to digital TV broadcasting in Azerbaijan consists of three phases. The first phase covers 2007-2010, the second - 2011-2013, the third - 2014-2015.

Initially, in Baku, Ganja and Nakhchivan there will be launched two packages of broadcasting with four channels per each, but only one package will be introduced in the country generally. As a result, 60-70 percent of the population will be included in the coverage of digital broadcasting.

In the second phase, one more package will be introduced in order to enhance digital broadcasting in Baku, Ganja and Nakhchivan, and as a result, three packages will operate, and two packages will function throughout the country. After that, the previous percentage of coverage of 60-70 percent will increase to 90 percent.

In total, three 12-program packages are planned to be launched until 2013.

The last - the third stage - envisions works to improve the quality of broadcasting by installing additional sensors, and achieve 98 percent coverage.

Regarding the benefits of digital broadcasting to users, the Ministry said that along with high-quality transmission, it is an opportunity to broadcast about 10 channels at a frequency.

For the first time in Azerbaijan, the digital television was launched as a pilot project in Baku on 10 October 2004.

/Trend Capital/