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LCQ20: Digital Terrestrial Television
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     Following is a question by the Hon Frederick Fung Kin-kee and a written reply by the Acting Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Gregory So, in the Legislative Council today (May 13):

Question:

     Regarding the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) officially launched on December 31, 2007, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the respective latest penetration rates of analogue and digital television;

(b) whether it has conducted any survey on the prices of DTT receivers in the past 18 months; if so, of the relevant trend of price movements; if not, the reasons for that; and

(c) as some members of the public have noticed that digital television signals are sometimes interrupted due to failure of the transmission stations, whether it knows the number of such failures since the launch of digital television broadcasting, the reasons for the failures and the time taken for repair; what follow-up measures the authorities have taken to reduce transmission station failures?

Reply:

President,

     The improved quality and enhanced features offered by the DTT service have been well recognised and accepted by the viewing public since its launch in December 2007. The digital take-up rate has grown as the DTT coverage has progressively been extended to reach some 75% of the population in Hong Kong, covering all 18 districts. The extensive high-definition service provided by the two free-to-air broadcasters and the wide coverage of Beijing Olympic last August provided a major boost to the take-up rate. The two free-to-air broadcasters will continue to expand the digital network so that the ultimate DTT coverage will be on a par with that of the existing analogue television broadcasting by 2011. By that stage, all members of the public may enjoy the brand new audio-visual experience and more programme choices through the DTT.

     My replies to the questions are as follows:

(a) According to a public survey conducted in the first quarter of 2009, about one-third (around 770,000) households in Hong Kong receive DTT services via set-top boxes, integrated digital television sets and computers. The penetration rate for traditional analogue television reception is close to 99%.

(b) Since the introduction of the DTT services, there has been consistent growth in the DTT receiver market. The functionality of the receivers continues to be improved and enhanced while the price range is moving downwards. Over the past year, the price range of popular DTT receivers has dropped from the range of $1,500-$3,000 to $900-$1,500. In addition to this, as the market matures, a new range of integrated digital television sets of different brands have been made available in the market, providing more choice for consumers.

(c) The two free-to-air broadcasters have consistently delivered reliable DTT services to the viewing public. The service reliability (i.e., the ratio in terms of broadcasting hours without interruption for an individual channel over the preceding six months) has been over 99%.

     Since the launch of DTT, 19 incidents in respect of the transmitting equipment and related facilities of the two broadcasters have been recorded, resulting in service interruptions which lasted for periods from a few minutes to half a day. According to the licence conditions, the two broadcasters have to immediately respond to an event of service interruption of television broadcasting so that normal service is resumed as soon as possible. An investigation report must be submitted subsequently to the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority and the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA). To minimise possible DTT service interruption affecting the viewing public due to failure of the transmitting facilities, the OFTA has asked the two broadcasters to improve their service recovery process including enhancement of the relevant spare equipment.

Ends/Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Issued at HKT 14:43

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