Decision by the Government of the Argentine Republic to Use the Format Adopted by Japan and Brazil for Its Terrestrial Digital Broadcasting
President Cristina Fernandez of the Argentine Republic announced on August 28, local time (August 29 in Japan) that her country would adopt the ISDB-T format used in Japan and Brazil for its terrestrial digital broadcasting, relaying this information to former MIC minister Hiroya Masuda, who was visiting Argentina as special representative of the prime minister of Japan. In addition, taking advantage of Mr. Masuda's presence, a memorandum was signed by Japan and Argentina concerning the introduction of the ISDB-T format.
The adoption of the ISDB-T format by the government of Argentina
MIC has been working together with related government agencies, broadcasters, manufacturers and research organizations, and following the adoption of the ISDB-T format for terrestrial digital television by Brazil in 2006, has dispatched specialists to conduct seminars as well as sent equipment in order to implement actual demonstrations, and invited relevant people from Argentina to Japan so that they could grasp the level of penetration in Japan.
As a result, following on from Brazil and Peru, Argentina also made the decision to adopt the ISDB-T format, and having relayed the news of the adoption of the ISDB-T format from President Fernandez to Hiroya Masuda, special representative of the prime minister of Japan, a memorandum concerning the introduction of ISDB-T format was signed between Argentina and Japan.
MIC's future involvement
MIC will continue to work with relevant organizations, and following the lines of the recently signed memorandum, has set up a joint operation panel for consultations on necessary measures in looking ahead to the smooth introduction of ISDB-T in Argentina, and is planning to implement technical cooperation and support in educating personnel.
MIC will continue towards the further penetration of the ISDB-T format, in cooperation with Brazil, Peru and Argentina.
(Reference Materials)
1. The ISDB-T (Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting - Terrestrial) format adopted by Japan and Brazil
There are currently three formats in existence for terrestrial digital broadcasting that are approved international standards. They are the Japanese and Brazilian format of ISDB-T, the European format of DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial), and the American format of ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee). ISDB-T is superior in comparison to the other formats, in that it is resistant to radio disturbance and interference, has technological superiority in that signals can be received even in motion, and an economic advantage in that costs are reduced because transmissions can be made from a single transmitter for both mobile devices (one-seg) and high-vision transmissions, making it cheaper overall.
Brazil adopted the ISDB-T format in June 2006, and started broadcasts in December 2007. Broadcasts are currently reaching 22 cities (covering 65% of the population).
Peru adopted ISDB-T in April 2009, and plans to start broadcasts in March 2010.
2. The state of the overseas spread of ISDB-T
Japan is cooperating with Brazil and Peru, which have already adopted the format, and working in the various South American countries that have yet to make a decision (Chili, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, etc.). In Asia, work is under way for adoption in the Philippines.
Status of Numbers of Subscribers to Telecommunications Services (As of End of June 2009)
The outline of the results compiled on this occasion is given below.
1. Subscription telephones and ISDN
The total number of subscription contracts as of the end of June 2009 for subscription telephones and ISDN was 46.269 million, a 7.9% year on year decrease, with the declining trend continuing.
2. Number of IP phone users
The number of IP phone users as of the end of June 2009 was 20.920 million. This marks a 14.4% increase from the same period of last year, with the upward trend continuing. The increase in 0AB-J numbers was especially noticeable, with a year on year increase of 39.0%.
3. Mobile phones and PHS
The number of contracts for mobile phones and PHS as of the end of June 2009 totaled 113.025 million, showing a 4.4% increase year on year, with the steady upward trend continuing.
Subscription telephones and ISDN
The total number of subscription contracts for subscription telephones and ISDN was 46.269 million as of the end of June 2009, a drop of 2.2% compared to the previous quarter (the end of March 2009). In addition, the year on year (compared to the end of June 2008) drop was 7.9%.
* Since changes were made by some of the operators to end of fiscal year 2008 values, the previous figures (announced on May 29, 2009) have been corrected.
Note 1: Dry copper telephones: NTT East and West telephone service using metal circuits
Note 2: These subscription figures shown here do not include the number of subscribers to My Line.
Note 3: Parenthesis indicate rate of growth or decline year on year.
Number of IP phone users
There were 20.920 million IP phone users as of the end of June 2009, an increase of 3.5% over the figure at the end of the previous quarter (the end of March 2009), and an increase of 14.4% year on year (compared to the end of June 2008), showing a continuing upward trend.
The number of users of 0AB-J IP phones was up 7.8% over the previous quarter (the end of March 2009), and up 39.0% year on year (compared to the end of June 2008).
The number of 050-IP phones was down 1.9% over the previous quarter (the end of March 2009), and down 7.7% year on year (compared to the end of June 2008).
* This reflects the total number of 050 and 0AB-J telephone numbers utilized by final users, and is not a rigorously accurate number of subscriptions.
Mobile phones and PHS
The number of contracts for mobile phones and PHS totaled 113.025 million as of the end of June 2009, an increase of 4.4% year on year. Penetration among the population stood at 88.5%.*
The number of mobile phone subscription contracts stood at 108.489 million and the number of PHS subscription contracts was 4.536 million. In addition, the number of third-generation mobile phone subscription contracts stood at 102.070 million, accounting for 94.0% of the total.
* The population used to calculate the penetration rate in the population uses the figures for nationwide population count (complete tabulation: 127.767994 million) in the 2005 Population Census announced by Statistics Bureau, MIC in October 2005.
(Reference)
Number of subscribers for IP connection services from mobile terminals (end of June 2009): 91.596 million contracts**
(Proportion to total of mobile phone contracts: 84.4%)
(** Total of iMode, EZweb, Yahoo! mobile, and EMnet)