Pacific Broadcasting Issues Pacific Wave Conference

1. PACIFIC BROADCASTING ISSUES
15 May 2015

2. Today’s Discussion Points
• Digital Switchover and the New Zealand
Experience
• Intellectual property (IP) and its protection

3. New Zealand Experience
• Went digital from September 2012 –
December 2013
• Going Digital campaign
• 1.5 million television homes
• Commercial premises – schools and
universities, hospitals, prisons, businesses,
hotels, motels and taverns

4. Digital Switchover Costs
• New Zealand - $47.403 million
• Australia - $369,500 million
• United Kingdom - $1.6 billion
– Communications Campaign
– Targeted assistance package
– Community Outreach programmes
– Extension of DTT services and restacking licenses
– Assistance to regional broadcasters
– Research

5. Why switch to digital
• Improved bandwidth efficiency – more
channels
• Frees up spectrum for other uses e.g. for
Telcos 4 G networks
• Removes co-channel interference
• Lowers costs for new entrants
• Digital dividend - Spectrum sold for $259
million

6. And the consumer?
• Requires a new digital ready television or:
• A set-top-box
• Delivers better picture and audio quality

7. Pacific Television Homes
• Fiji – 175,000 (Pop 867,000)
• Solomon Islands – 130,000 (Pop 515,000)
• Vanuatu – 70,000 (Pop 277,000)
• Samoa – 40,000 (Pop 190,000)
• Kiribati – 28,000 (Pop 114,000)
• Tonga – 25,000 (Pop 104,000)
• Niue – 400 (Pop 1600)
• Tokelau – 350 (Pop 1400)
• Tuvalu – 250 (Pop 1100)

8. Efficient use of capital?
• Who pays
• Government?
• Broadcasters?
• Consumers?
• Capital cost of equipment
• Lower populations – higher cost per television
home

9. What are the alternatives?
• Do nothing
• Look at Mobile - penetration is high in the
Pacific
• Look at wireless internet connectivity
• Deliver audio and visual content via the
internet

10. Emerging technologies
• EMBMS - Enabled Multimedia Broadcast
Multicast Services
• Reduces congestion
• 2G, 3G, 4G
• 5G next – more efficient
• New ways to connect mobile device to the TV
– Chromecast, 3G Wireless modem

11. Food for thought……
• Look at the alternatives as the Pacific is
already well served by mobile
• Should you leapfrog technologies to
mobile/wireless content delivery
• Look at the costs – cost benefit analysis
• Who pays?
• Are there any revenue opportunities?

12. The importance of IP
• Intellectual Property (IP) includes software,
hardware, content, music, usage rights etc
• Must protect both IP created by your citizens
& overseas IP licensed for use in your country
• If you can’t ensure IP protection, you risk
creative flight & exclusion from use
• This may impact on economic growth and
your citizens, especially as economies
transition to digital

13. Protecting Property Rights
• © and IP laws need to be updated for 21st
digital technologies
• Must be able to enforce these laws
• Businesses must deliver adequate Digital
Rights Management, geo-filtering, royalty
tracking & reporting etc
• Businesses must be helped to keep up with
rapid digital change

14. Fight Piracy
• Piracy is a critical issue for all IP owners
• 15% or more of global content revenues may
leak annually due to piracy
• Must be able to demonstrate that you are
fighting piracy
• Find ways to link in with what’s happening
overseas and show you support it
• Forewarned is forearmed

15. Summary
• Digital Switchover – consider the options
• Cost Benefit Analysis DSO Vs ‘Techno
Leapfrog’
• Don’t rush into this – you don’t need to
• Consumers are important
• IP – protect your own local content and IP
creators

16. QUESTIONS?