ITU-R REPORT BS.2208 PDF

Introduction

Radio and television broadcasting is in the process of migrating to digital modulation schemes to better exploit the possibilities offered by existing and new delivery platforms. Digital modulation offers significant advantages in being able to give:

– consistent quality which is less dependent on variations in the channel;

– more effective use of channel capacity through resilient coding and advanced compression techniques;

– easier access through automatic or assisted tuning;

– versatility by including audiovisual and data information in the same channel.

Recognizing that analogue broadcasting technologies still find significant use and will continue to do so for some time to come, this Report will restrict itself to consideration of digital systems.

While the Internet and associated systems are playing an increasingly important role in the delivery of sound broadcasting services, conventional terrestrial radio still plays a very important part in delivering radio to its audiences. Demand for services outstrips the channel capacity and so there is pressure to increase that capacity. More efficient digital formats play a major part in this quest. However, this document examines the possibility of using digital formats in parts of the spectrum that are, have been, or can be made available for broadcasting but are not very much used at the moment.

VHF Band I is taken to include frequencies between 47 MHz and 68 MHz. From a technical point of view, there is no reason why this should not be extended to include the OIRT Bands (see Article 5 of the Radio Regulations (RR)) used in certain countries for FM analogue broadcasting. While this band may not be available in all locations it is a valuable broadcasting resource where it is available and the technical arguments are the same as for the frequency bands immediately below it.