September 13, 2007
MIC
National Council for Promotion of Terrestrial Digital Broadcasting

Municipal Roadmap for Terrestrial Digital TV Broadcasting

Terrestrial digital TV broadcasting services were launched in the three metropolitan areas (Kanto, Chukyo and Kinki areas) in December 2003, and they have reached all prefectures of Japan last December.
In view of a smooth transition of analog broadcasting to digital broadcasting, MIC and the National Council for Promotion of Terrestrial Digital Broadcasting have recently developed a municipal roadmap (that consists of the municipal-level schedule on coverage households, which indicates when terrestrial digital TV broadcasting services become available in each municipality, and the time schedule on coverage areas, which is created at the prefecture level), following the roadmap to construct relay stations that was revised last December. The roadmaps are now available on a MIC website dedicated to information on terrestrial digital broadcasting (URL: http://www.soumu.go.jp/joho_tsusin/dtv/zenkoku/index.html).
Based on the Telecommunications Council's fourth interim report (issued on August 2, 2007), "Optimal Utilization of Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting and Roles of Administration toward Penetration thereof," MIC will promote development of digital relay stations and renovation of community reception facilities in remote locations so that digital broadcasting can cover 100% of the areas covered by analog broadcasting. For the areas where digital broadcasting services are not available by 2011 in spite of such an approach, MIC is considering the provision of digital broadcasting services via satellite as a tentative measure.

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For further information about this press release, please fill in the inquiry form and submit it to MIC on the website
http://www.soumu.go.jp/joho_tsusin/eng/contact.html

International Policy Division,
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Telecommunications Bureau, MIC
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