Azerbaijan engaged in full transition to digital broadcasting
By Nigar Abbasova
Full switch to the digital broadcasting in Azerbaijan requires solving a certain number of technical and organizational issues, Deputy Minister of Communications and High Technologies, Elmir Velizade said.
He underlined that the signal of the digital broadcasting covers approximately 99 percent of the country.
“One of the main issues that we face currently is the termination of the analogue broadcasting and switch to the digital standard,” he said.
Digital broadcasting works by translating sound and picture into digital data rather than analogue waveforms. Digital links use data compression which in its turn provides for more efficient bandwidth usage as well as higher-quality signal.
Previously Trend reported that Teleradio production unit is planning to purchase low-power transmitters for the expansion of signal coverage of the DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting). The transmitters will be mainly established in the difficult-to-reach regions of the country with weak signal reception of the digital TV.
The regions will be defined as a result of a monitoring which will be held by the State Radio frequency service of the country.
The process of disconnection from the analogue broadcasting is expected to be held in a phased manner. Social package which is currently available in the country includes 12 channels. Broadcasting of the digital content in the country is carried out in MPEG-4 format. Subscribers should get a decoder to switch to the digital format of broadcasting. The cost of the devices in the domestic market ranges from 40 to 50 manats. ($26-32)
Speaking about the problems occurring in the quality of Internet access the minister mentioned that the process of complaints investigation revealed that problems do not always depend on the internet service providers.
“Such aspects as defects in the telephone subscriber lines, wrong installation of dispatch devices, and computer viruses may affect the quality of access as well as data transfer rate,” he said.
He also emphasized that currently Internet is an integral part of modern life. Internet technologies which are currently used in the country (fixed and mobile access) correspond to individual demands of every customer and allow getting all required information from the global network.
The level of penetration of the Internet in the country amounts to 75 percent. As many as 65 percent of the total number of the country’s Internet users have a broadband access. The rate exceeds worldwide average level by 2 times. The country is engaged in the preparation of a new development project of the Internet.
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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova
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