Caribbean Dividends From Digital Switchover

A shift from analog to digital television broadcast in the Caribbean could be a big boost for local content creators looking to produce and distribute original programs.

Free, analog, over-the-air television broadcasting has already been replaced by digital television transmission is several parts of the world. The process, commonly referred to as the digital switchover, is now underway in the Caribbean and the successful transition in other parts of the world provides several lessons that can be applied to the Caribbean. As a region, Europe was among the early adopters. From as early as December 2006, the Netherlands moved to digital-only television broadcasting. Today, in several countries worldwide, including USA, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Ghana and Kenya, broadcasters are now required to transmit exclusively in a digital format.

As with all technological advancement, digital switchover is not without potential complications. It could entail unwanted consequences like confusing or even marginalising those unfamiliar with the technology In Singapore, for example, groups of volunteers have taken to making weekly house visits to assist the elderly to transition to digital television.

But the transition from analog to digital is inevitable and produces many clear benefits. This is in part because digital television makes much more efficient use of scarce broadcast spectrum, the radio frequencies used for wireless communication.

By migrating television broadcasters to digital formats, governments can create opportunities to reallocate the radio spectrum frequencies formerly assigned to those transmissions. That released spectrum creates what is called a digital dividend that can be reallocated to critical telecommunications projects, such as nationwide emergency broadcast systems, national wireless broadband access projects  and other such initiatives.

However, in the Caribbean, where the supply of spectrum still outstrips current demand, there is much work to be done. Making the business case for the digital switchover requires a blend of foresight and ingenuity.

“Television broadcast bands in the Caribbean are sparsely populated, as very few broadcasters exist to fully utilise the spectrum available within those frequencies for free, over-the-air programming. So the traditional digital dividend spectrum is not in use and is available in most Caribbean countries. A case of having digital assets instead of having to win a digital dividend. As a result, the region’s broadcasters may not have as strong a motivation to invest in the digital switchover,” said Nigel Cassimire, a telecommunications specialist and spectrum expert with the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU).

The CTU advises regional governments on the intricacies of spectrum planning and policy development, including areas such as digital switchover and frequency reallocation.

Governments can generate revenue by auctioning parts of available or freed-up spectrum to telecommunications service companies, such as mobile service providers. Jamaica and Antigua & Barbuda are two Caribbean countries that have already assigned mobile services for frequencies previously designated primarily for television broadcasting.

“Regional governments and other stakeholders must weigh the costs and benefits of the digital switchover, balancing the risks of radical change against the promise of emerging opportunity,” Cassimire said.

He added that the CTU is working closely with its member states to develop a regulatory and commercial framework to safeguard the interests of all stakeholders.

Among the most tangible possibilities for the region is the opportunity to enhance the production of original video and audio programming for local consumption.

If the Caribbean is to maximise the opportunities of digital switchover, then governments, regulators and broadcasters will have to work in concert to deepen interest and investment in local content production.

“In a media landscape dominated by the cultural and economic powerhouses of the world, audiences from emerging markets like the Caribbean typically find themselves drowning in a flood of foreign content,” said Bevil Wooding, an Internet Strategist and Director of the CTU’s Caribbean ICT Roadshow, an initiative that boosts general ICT awareness and promotes local digital content creation.

“We can harness creative local resources to produce relevant local content, riding on local infrastructure, governed by local legislation, transacting in the local markets, to meet local needs,” Wooding said.

The interconnected set of actions he describes is key to realising the digital dividends other countries have already achieved, and the Caribbean longs for. With the right mix of political will, technical expertise and private sector investment, the Caribbean has the potential to convert its digital assets into a real cultural dividend.

Making The Most Of Caribbean Spectrum

Caribbean countries have found an interesting way to extract value from one shared, invisible commodity.

The valuable resource is known to telecommunication industry insiders as spectrum. That’s the simple term for the complex range of electromagnetic frequencies used to transmit sound, video or data over the airwaves.

Spectrum is vital to everyday life. It’s what carries voice between mobile phones, television shows to screens, and data from one computer to the next, wirelessly. It supports a growing number of important electronic and digital services, from weather forecasting and road safety applications to national emergency broadcast systems.

But because radio frequencies propagate across borders, transmissions from one country can cause what is known as harmful interference in another country. And when two transmitters get their signals crossed in this way, it can be very frustrating for paying customers in both countries, who experience lower overall quality and reliability of service.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) coordinates the shared global use of spectrum, but the question of how spectrum is managed within the small, close spaces shared by Caribbean islands is largely one for regional governments and agencies to hash out among themselves.

As they’ve been working together to figure out how their national frequencies should get used and who should benefit, regional officials have struck on the value of spectrum harmonisation.

“We work with national, regional and international organisations to increase the capacity and expertise of our Caribbean practitioners in the space of spectrum management,” said Nigel Cassimire, Acting Secretary General of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), an intergovernmental organisation that advises officials on technology and telecommunications matters.

Through initiatives like its Harmonised Caribbean Spectrum Planning and Management Project, the CTU has helped member-states to pool resources and join efforts to synchronise their spectrum policies.

“For years, we’ve had a situation of harmful interference in the Eastern Caribbean, among the English-speaking, French and Dutch islands. But the CTU’s Spectrum Harmonisation project brought together the relevant parties, and there is now a draft agreement between stakeholders in the French territories and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. They are now seeking to harmonise their individual use of frequencies, such that they minimise harmful interference and improve efficiency in their use of spectrum for mutual benefit,” he said.

As part of the ongoing effort to harmonise member states’ use of spectrum, the CTU and ITU organised a weeklong Regional Radiocommunication Seminar from July 18 to 22, facilitated by experts from the ITU, and held with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank. About 50 delegates from the Caribbean, Central and South America gathered in Port of Spain, Trinidad to learn more about the best practices regarding the use of national spectrum, and the current regulatory framework for international frequency management.

“The ITU and the CTU were pleased to work together to bring this forum to the Caribbean,” said Cleveland Thomas, ITU Regional Representative for the Caribbean.

“Forums like these bring together regional regulators, government officials, technical community and academic researchers, and create a space for professional networking and relationship building.”

As part of their effort to avoid harmful interference in the use of spectrum, the ITU holds the World Radiocommunication Conference every three years. But Thomas said more Caribbean voices need to be heard at such international fora, if the interests of the region are to be protected on the international stage.

Cassimire agreed and pointed out that events like the joint ITU-CTU workshop represented a tangible effort to amplify the Caribbean region’s voice on the global stage.

“Meetings like this help us to increase regional awareness of the important issues being discussed at the global level, to encourage governments to send delegations to significant international meetings such as the World Radiocommunications Conference, and to prepare regional delegates to better represent national and regional interests at those multi-lateral gatherings,” Cassimire said.

Caribbean countries have their work cut out as they seek to get the most out of their use of spectrum. In the meantime, the ongoing collaboration within the region is an interesting case study in the power of pooled resources and joint effort in overcoming resource limitations.

Belize Builds Its Digital Dreams

HAVANA, Cuba—Errol Cattouse is a man on a mission.

He’s the Chief Operating Officer of Centaur Cable and the newly appointed chairman of Belize’s internet exchange point. Launched in Belize City on April 27, the exchange point is seen as a key component in the country’s growing technology sector.

For Cattouse and others in the Caribbean, IXPs also hold the promise of better network performance and greater options to innovate in the delivery of services to local consumers. But Cattouse already knows he can’t do it on his own. So he’s on a mission to develop the human resource capacity needed to bring the dream home. And he’s not alone.

Around the region, the investments being made in critical Internet infrastructure are creating a demand for expertise that seemingly outstrips current domestic supply. The growing Caribbean technology revolution can’t be completed until the region can raise up a generation of open minds and able hands ready to seize the opportunities and deliver on technology’s elusive promise. That’s what brought Cattouse and other Internet service providers from across the region to Cuba in May.

The capital city of Havana played host to the twenty-fifth meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Internet Registry (LACNIC) from May 2 to 6.

“I’m here because in Belize, with our newly formed Internet Exchange, we’re looking forward to LACNIC helping us with a lot of technical support,” he told me, when I caught up with him between sessions. “We don’t have access to a lot of technical education and capacity in Belize, and we’ve benefitted of programs from the Caribbean Network Operators Group (CaribNOG) and the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) to help build our local capacity. This LACNIC meeting is part of our ongoing efforts to continue making connections with the regional technical community.”

He cited the Domain Name System (DNS) and Border Gateway Patrol routing (BGP) as two areas for which technical training is needed in Belize to get the most out of the new IXP.

The good news? Global, non-profit organisations like LACNIC, the Internet Society, Packet Clearing House, and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers are eager to work alongside Belize and others in the Caribbean to grow and strengthen the region’s internet.

“LACNIC is quite focused on building out training opportunities for the region,” said Kevon Swift, LACNIC’s Head of Strategic Relations and Integration, in an interview at LACNIC 25. “We offer workshops that cover everything from the basics of IPv6 to Address Planning and BGP Routing because we recognise that this level of knowledge or expertise may not always  reside in every territory at this time.”

LACNIC’s online campus already offers MOOC-style, self-paced courses, said Laura Kaplan, LACNIC’s Cooperation and Development Officer, adding that there is a plan to expand the curriculum to cover the kinds of topics that Cattouse and others are looking for, and to make it more friendly to English-speaking participants.

“What we offer is not just information but the opportunity to join mailing lists, make new contacts and  build relationships with other people who are also working in the same field,” Kaplan said.

Bill Woodcock, research director at Packet Clearing House, highlighted the work his San Francisco-based organisation has been doing in the region.

“PCH has been working closely with the CTU, CaribNOG and others in the region to support the proliferation of Internet exchange points and to help strengthen the region’s internet infrastructure.”

Woodcock and his PCH team helped set up the Belize IXP and are now actively planning with Cattouse to facilitate a series technical training workshops for Belize, over the second half of the year.

That is likely to reassure those, like Cattouse, on a mission to help the Caribbean move from the land of Internet promises, and into the Internet promised land.