Digital Television Takes Center Stage at Summit of the Americas
The presentation of this powerful new technology before the region's foreign ministers and business leaders, conducted by the ATSC Forum, highlighted DTV's enormous potential for fulfilling hemispheric goals of economic growth with equity, social development, and democratic governance with broader civic participation.
Underscoring the significance of these issues for the delegates to the Summit of the Americas, ATSC Forum Chairman Robert K. Graves stated, "As officials work to establish policies that alleviate poverty and promote peace and prosperity, we want them to know that digital television is an effective tool for economic and social development throughout the region. Our goal here is to demonstrate this great potential so they will rethink the television as they know it today and see that digital television can go a long way toward stimulating national economies, informing and educating societies, and promoting greater transparency in government and greater civic participation."
ATSC Forum presenter and Harris Corporation executive Nahuel Villegas showcased the value of DTV as a key tool for hemispheric integration, social inclusion, and bridging the digital divide. "Information empowers and creates opportunity," he said, as he led the packed hall though a series of demonstrations that focused in particular on "educasting" -- the cost- effective use of DTV signals to broadcast educational information and Internet content to classrooms and other venues. The DTV presentation also included demonstrations of business and interactive applications, and Villegas stressed that "the same technology can also be used for such things as teacher training, job training, parenting courses, the delivery of diagnostic health information, disaster prevention, and a range of other applications with tangible social and economic benefits."
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The DTV demonstration at the Special Summit -- the fruit of collaboration between Harris, Texas Instruments, LG Electronics, Triveni Digital Zenith Electronics, and the ATSC Forum -- comes on the heels of the historic adoption of a resolution by the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) of the Organization of American States (OAS) to encourage the implementation of DTV broadcasting services throughout the hemisphere as rapidly as local conditions permit, using a common standard. In this decision, the 34 members of the OAS have taken a major step toward creating the first hemispheric digital television marketplace.
CITEL recognizes that a common hemispheric DTV standard will facilitate the emergence of a huge market of 830 million people, creating economies of scale that will bring more equipment from more suppliers at lower prices, hastening the delivery of innovative, beneficial services throughout the region and encouraging further cooperation and investments in research and development.
The Forum speakers also highlighted the great momentum in the DTV transition in the United States. There, more than 1,300 DTV stations are on the air in 202 markets, covering more than 99% of U.S. TV households. Approximately 70% of U.S. TV households have access to six or more DTV signals, and 14-16 DTV stations are on the air in the largest U.S. cities.
More than 800 DTV products are on the market today in the U.S. Prices are continuing to fall, and sales are growing rapidly. As of September 2003, over 7 million DTV units had been sold, representing a consumer investment of US$12.7 billion.
In addition to the ATSC Forum's strong presence at Sunday's Private Sector Forum, the Special Summit of the Americas host, Mexican President Vicente Fox, and other heads of state, experienced digital television technology during the Jan. 12-13 Summit itself thanks to plasma displays provided by ATSC Forum member LG Electronics Inc.
The ATSC Forum, an organization affiliated with the Advanced Television Systems Committee Inc., educates broadcasters, manufacturers and government policymakers throughout the world about the benefits of digital television technology, and advocates adoption of the ATSC family of standards in order to achieve these benefits.
Source: ATSC Forum
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