NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AUTHORITY

Transcription

1 NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS AUTHORITY Rules for the Assignment of Logical Channel Numbers (LCNs) Background Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) technologies provide for the delivery of Service Information (SI) and Programme Specific Information (PSI). The SI/PSI also includes numbers assigned to television programme channels as their unique identity on the DTT platform. These numbers are called logical channel numbers (LCN). The role of the LCN is to enable user presentation of service numbers in a convenient and familiar form. To avoid conflicting allocation of LCNs the logical channel number should be unique across all the networks that cover the same geographical region. In the Minimum Specifications for Free to Air Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) Receivers in Ghana (GS1099), the Logical Channel Number descriptors are specified and the numbers range from 1 to 999. Valid LCN s are allocated in the range Numbers in the range are reserved for foreign services, etc. as illustrated in Figure 1. Figure 1: Channel Map of Valid Logical Channel Number Descriptor in a DTT Receiver per GS1099 The National Communications Authority shall assign the Logical Channel Numbers to authorised digital terrestrial television programme channels to ensure that each LCN is unique Page 1 of 5

2 to a programme channel. Broadcasters would consequently be able to market their LCN as their unique identifier on the Digital Ghana platform. The following rules represent the criteria the Authority shall use to assign Logical Channel Numbers in the transition from Analogue to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) in Ghana. The rules were developed giving regard to equitable access for competing authorised service providers and proportionality. Rules for LCN Assignment 1. Allocation to the various categories of Services a. LCNs 1 99 allocated to Free to Air (FTA) television programme channels i.e. authorised unencrypted programme channels transmitted in the clear. This is to ensure that stations that are in the clear, appear before encrypted channels which only subscribers to a particular service may have access to. b. LCNs allocated to encrypted channels operated by authorised Digital Terrestrial Pay Television entities. c. LCNs allocated as a strategic reserve. d. LCNs allocated to Digital Television Additional Services (e.g. Radio stations on the multiplex, Teletext services, etc) 2. Assignments for the Category of Free to Air Television Programme Channels a. Existing analogue authorisations shall be assigned the first set of LCNs in accordance with the date of authorisation with number 1 assigned to the first authorised station in that order b. All the existing television stations or programme channels of the state owned broadcaster, the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation shall be assigned the first set of numbers before the Privately owned stations in accordance with the date of authorisation c. Where two or more authorised analogue television stations have the same date of authorisation, the date of commencement of service, shall be used to determine the order in which the numbers shall be assigned. d. New Digital Terrestrial Television Programme Channels shall be assigned LCNs according to the date of Authorisation by the National Communications Authority. Page 2 of 5

3 e. The list of Television stations authorised to be on the national DTT multiplex at inception are listed in Annex 1 with their corresponding LCN according to the above stated criteria. 3. Assignments for the Category of Digital Terrestrial Pay Television channels a. Digital Terrestrial Pay Television channels shall be assigned LCNs in blocks of 25. b. For existing authorised Digital Terrestrial Pay Television operators, date of authorisation shall be used to assign LCNs with the first block from assigned to the first authorised station in that order. c. An allocation of two (2) continuous blocks may be assigned to an authorisation holder upon request. However, any additional allocation shall be based on efficient utilisation, proven demand and justification. d. Each authorisation holder shall assign numbers within its allocated block per its own internal rules and shall notify the Authority of LCNs assigned to each programme channel. The Authorisation holder shall give the Authority 14 days advance notice before making changes to their internal LCN assignments. 4. Assignments within the Category of Digital Additional Services a. LCNs within the range shall be assigned by the National Communications Authority to radio stations i.e. Digital Terrestrial Radio Services on the Multiplex b. LCN 700 and 701 shall be reserved for the radio service of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation c. Other assignments in this category shall be done on a first come, first served category. d. LCNs within the range shall be reserved for other Additional services on the multiplex. 5. LCNs in the Overflow area a. LCNs in the range are reserved for Foreign services. Television viewers along the borders may receive foreign services and the DTT receivers marked with the Digital Ghana conformance logo shall locate these services in this range. b. No specific assignments shall be made within this range Page 3 of 5

4 Rules for Multiplex Operators Multiplex operators in Ghana: 1. Shall use Original_Network_ID: 0x2120. This is a mandatory requirement to ensure that certified DTT receivers are able to distinguish foreign programmes from programmes assigned Logical Channel Numbers by the National. 2. Shall NOT carry a free to air programme channel in the multiplex unless the programme channel has been authorised by the National Communications Authority with a valid Logical Channel Number. 3. Shall transmit the appropriate data in the following DVB Tables: a. Network Information Table (NIT) b. Service Description Table (SDT) c. Event Information Table (EIT) d. Time and Date Table (TDT) e. Time Offset Table (TOT) 4. Shall ensure that the name assigned to each service in the SDT shall be the name contained in the Authorisation from the National Communications Authority or an amendment approved by the Authority. 5. Shall apply the LCN assigned by the National Communications Authority only to the programme channel authorised to use the number. 6. Shall transmit Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) data in the DVB EIT schedule tables, specifically EITschedule and EITp/f, and shall continually update these tables to reflect schedule changes. Multiplex operators shall consequently require operators of programme channels on their multiplex to provide the appropriate data for the EPG. 7. Shall transmit accurate data in the TDT and TOT Page 4 of 5

5 Annex 1 Channel Numbers to be assigned to existing Free to Air Television stations in accordance with stated criteria LOGICAL CHANNEL NUMBER COMPANY NAME TRADE NAME DATE OF AUTHORISATION 1. GHANA BROADCASTING CORPORATION G 2. GHANA BROADCASTING CORPORATION GBC GHANA BROADCASTING CORPORATION GBC Govern 4. GHANA BROADCASTING CORPORATION GBC Life GHANA BROADCASTING CORPORATION GBC Sports+ 6. GHANA BROADCASTING CORPORATION Obonu 7. CRYSTAL Crystal Xtra Crystal Prime 21-Nov TELEVISION AFRICA LTD. AFRICA 21-Nov NETWORK LIMITED 3 17-Sep METROPOLITAN ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION METRO 05-Sep NET 2 LIMITED NET 2 07-Apr THE CARDINAL FOUNDATION FOR DISTANCE LEARNING (CAFDIL) CAFDIL 11-Feb K & N INVESTMENT E- GHANA 19-Oct-06 CENTRE FOR INTERCULTURAL COASTAL LEARNING TALENT & DEVELOPMENT, 16. AGORO 16-Oct VIASAT BROADCASTING LTD. VIASAT 1 22-Feb EMPIRE BROADCASTING NETWORK - 09-May HBA & COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK - 24-Jun THREE ANGELS BROADCASTING NETWORK GHANA 3ABN 11-Aug GREAT KOSA COMPANY LTD. KANTANKA 27-Aug C TELEVISION LIMITED C 03-Oct ORAKLE ADVERTISING LIMITED - 10-Nov SMART MULTIMEDIA LIGHT 23-Dec GHONE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY LIMITED GH ONE 05-Jan INTEGRATED MEDIA XCHANGE (IMX) ATINKA 07-Jan U2 COMPANY LTD. U 20-Jan-09 Page 5 of 5