ATHENA Main Objectives

The objective of this project is the validation of a broadband access for all citizens infrastructure (see figure) based on the proper adoption of digital switchover.

This project will explore and validate, in a city, the deployment/realisation of the digital switchover issue through the design, implementation and evaluation of an infrastructure, which uses a regenerative DVB-T stream for the interconnection of distribution nodes, enabling access to IP services, and digital TV programmes (see figure).

In such configuration, all kind of citizens/providers are co-equal users of the same infrastructure via which they access (or provide) IP services. Such implementation can be used and exploited as common infrastructure by 3G and B3G operators and broadcasters having independent business plans and different users/clients.

This project is oriented to the active users/citizens [1] that can provide and manipulate their own services to the entire IP backbone (i.e. spin-off businessman, off line IP television multicasters, etc.). The use of regenerative DVB-T configurations in conjunction with intermediate distribution nodes (cell main nodes - CMNs) that utilize broadband uplinks, constitutes a broadband access infrastructure capable to accommodate the active users/citizens.

ATHENA’s target is the implementation and utilization of such a neutral infrastructure, which does not belong to any broadcaster or 3G operator, and which could be a step towards eEurope 2005, as it can be used and exploited by any potential service/content/application provider (i.e. broadcaster, 3G operator, active citizens/users) who have independent business plans and different target groups of clients. The existence of such a neutral regenerative infrastructure (DVB-T) in a city, provides not only a bouquet of television programs, but also (and most predominant) creates a powerful broadband IP backbone (the 60 available analogue UHF/VHF channels may be seen as a virtual medium that provides an aggregate bit-rate of about 1.8Gbps) [2]. Such an approach is a possible compromise between TV broadcasters (who want the entire UHF band) and 3G operators (who claim part of this bandwidth for exclusive use). A businessman who is involved with the provision of IP services will be able to set up his business targeted to IP clients/consumers. A broadcaster will transmit his own “bouquet” of TV programmes (from his studio premises) that will be addressed to television viewers via the common DVB-T downstream, while ignoring the existence of the other service/content provider (e.g. the IP service provider) who has set up a whole IP business that is addressed to another world (IP-world) in the same city and via the same DVB-T stream. Such an infrastructure will not be a competitor to current broadcasting enterprises such as the satellite television industry, which denotes the continental or global aspect of television, but a supplementary one as it sets-off the local aspect of it besides focusing in the IP capabilities that it can offer.

A real condition trial will be utilised in a medium-sized city of a region/country with many analogue television channels/broadcasters who are investigating a viable solution in the new situation of the ‘digital switchover’. Exhaustive performance evaluation tests, public presentations and several demonstrations under real condition environment will provide useful results concerning the networking potentiality of the DVB stream. These results will be a useful feedback for the existing service/content providers (a broader market will be open for them) and the new type of businessmen (potential/implicit service providers that can distribute their own content to the entire network). Furthermore, such a real condition trial will provide useful information to the local and political authorities, by notifying them about the networking dimension and the local aspect of the new digital television. Such notification will be essential prior to the decisions to be taken for the digital switchover. Such issues are currently under consideration by all European countries (“the eEurope 2005 Action Plan requires Member States to publish their switchover plans  including a possible date for ending analogue television by end 2003"^[3]), which are preparing their new laws and the technical issues concerning the digital switchover.

[1] Currently, both broadcasters and telecom operators consider citizens of Europe as passive consumers/clients of their content/services, and they foresee an increase of such a custom when digital switchover becomes a reality. The passive citizen who receives predefined content/services/applications seems to be the target group of these sectors, which will raise their income and boost their business viability. The active participation, however, of the critical mass of potential content/application providers (stemming from traditional users) in the market is the key to, generate revenue, gear up rich activity in the market chain and spear new progress in both the broadcasting and telecommunication sectors, besides attracting new consumers. The critical missing link to enable this active participation of all potential content/application providers, is a broadband access infrastructure, which will decouple the service provisioning function from the network operators and offer this privilege, to all interesting players (active citizens/users) introducing innovative services, generating revenue, competition, quality and market opportunities.

[2] According to the BIPE’s study ‘Digital switchover in broadcasting’, which was created for the European Commission (Directorate General Information Society) and which was the subject for a public hearing organised by DG A1 (June 2002), in page 98 it is stated that “Management of the analogue TV spectrum in Italy and in Greece, or even in Germany shows that it is possible to receive more than 10 terrestrial channels per household, which challenges the conventional orthodoxy of scarcity in countries, i.e. a maximum of 5 national terrestrial channels would be possible. This suggests that the level of power and interference strongly affect scarcity”.  Specifically in Athens, there are 40 terrestrial channels per household, among which 10 are national, more than 5 are re-broadcasted in UHF from satellite (i.e. CNN, Euronews, TV5, Eurosport, MTV), and the others are local Athenian television channels.

[3] “Digital Broadcasting and switchover” a Communication adopted by the European Commission on the transition to digital broadcasting, at the initiative of Commissioner Erkki Liikanen, responsible for Enterprise and the Information Society, (accessed by  http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/03/1276|0|RAPID&lg=EN&display=