Geneva hosted last 16-24 July the second annual meeting of working party 6A (WP 6A), whose activities cover all matters concerning terrestrial broadcasting systems. It was attended by 74 delegates from 28 administrations and 21 representatives from industry, universities and other organisations.
Regarding digital TV broadcasting, the presentation of a contribution from Japan stands out. It aims to update report ITU-R BT.2343 (describing on-the-ground measurements in various countries of high-definition television (UHDTV) transmission using digital terrestrial television (DTT) networks, so as to include new results from 8K-UHDTV transmission tests using DTT networks conducted in the cities of Tokyo and Nagoya.
Another significant event was the continued manifest intention of the United States of America to harmonise spectrum, if possible worldwide, for services ancillary to programme making (SAP)/services ancillary to broadcasting (SAB) or equipment for programme making and special events (PMSE).
Regarding sharing, a working document was presented with a view to creating a new ITU-R recommendation on calculations for coexistence of DTT service with other services, using the Monte Carlo statistical method. This document was very controversial and will therefore continue to be discussed at the group’s next meeting.
As for audio broadcasting, the only highlight was the American delegation’s contribution about HD radio, which enables a digital signal to be added to an existing analogical service. Such simultaneous transmission of digital and analogical information is known as hybrid mode of HD radio and is applied to both implementations of AM and FM. WP 6A approved the creation of a new preliminary report on this subject.
A workshop meant to stimulate interest in new study areas for the three working parties (6A, 6B and 6C) associated to broadcasting was also organised during the meeting.
The next WP 6A meeting is due to be held in Geneva in February 2020.
