Fiji plans National Platform for conversion to digital TV

In a speech at the the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC), Fiji’s Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama, announced plans for a National Digital Television Platform as part of the country’s conversion to digital television broadcasting.

The Prime Minister said:

“Plans have been finalised for the creation of a National Digital Television Platform that will greatly improve the picture and sound quality of television programs and expand the coverage of all broadcast television channels.

The digital platform will offer consumers better reception, more channels, and access to High Definition and pay per view programming. The new platform will initially extend the coverage of all broadcast channels to 94 per cent of the population, marking a drastic improvement over the current levels of coverage.

Also, digital television will work on current television sets and no satellite dish is required. All that is needed is a low cost set top box, which will give you greater control over programming, including the ability to choose what channels are available in your households if you have children.

The Department of Communications will oversee the creation of this government-owned national platform. Once complete, the platform will be handed over to FBC to manage and FBC will form a new transmission company for this purpose.

Broadcasters will then lease one or multiple digital channels for fixed annual fees. The system will be completely transparent and the cost to lease channels will be the same for all broadcasters, including FBC.

The fixed fees will replace the need for ongoing investment in new equipment and infrastructure, as well as costs for repair and maintenance. This means that broadcasters will be free to focus on providing content and leave all the work related to transmission to the platform manager.”