Digital switchover completed
Network operator Media Broadcast has announced that the digital switchover has been completed throughout Germany as of the 2nd December 2008 and services are now available to 90% of the population, in total 74 million people. However in some places the switchover is not 100% complete and some small areas will continue to receive analogue gap fillers to ensure full coverage.
To complete the changeover process Media Broadcast set up new broadcast antennas at 79 transmission sites and installed 283 new transmitter stations. During the process 6,000 analogue TV transmitters and transposers were decommissioned.
Viewers are able to access between 12 and 30 television programme services depending on their location.
During the transition a three-tier receiving concept was developed to provide provision for inside, outside and rooftop reception.
Source: Media Broadcast press release
Item added: 16th December 2008



ASO will complete two years ahead of plan
The switch off of all analogue transmitters in Germany will be completed on the 25th November 2008, 2 years ahead of schedule.
DTT services are now available to 90% of the country and it is estimated that 16 million DVB-T receivers will have been sold in Germany by the end of 2008.
Source: Bayerischer Rundfunk
Item added: 3rd November 2008


Mobile 3.0 to hand back licence
Mobile 3.0 is expected to hand back its DVB-H licence shortly after failing to fulfil its licence obligations.
At present it is not known when the licence will be offered for new bidders.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 3rd November 2008


Bavaria completes switch to DTT
Bavaria will complete its transition to DTT service on the 25th November when the last digital replacement transmitters are officially put on air. After the launch 90% of Bavarians will be able to receive DTT services.
Initially only public service broadcasts will be available on the platform but this is likely to change as DTT becomes established.
Germany is a highly cabled country and terrestrial reception is by no means the major means of TV delivery at present.
The public service channel line up consists of 12 channels, Das Erste, ZDF, Bayerisches Fernsehen, BR-alpha, 3sat, PHOENIX, arte, EinsPlus, Kika, hr-fernsehen, MDR, ZDFdokukanal and ZDFinfokanal. In some areas only 10 programmes are available.
Main source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 30th September 2008



Three apply for DTT in Hesse
The single DTT channel up for offer on the multiplex transmitted on channel 64 in the Rhine-Maine area of Hesse has received three applications. These are from Bibel TV, the evangelical broadcaster, ERF and regional broadcaster RegioOnline from Hanover. The state media authority is expected to choose the winning applicant and award the licence this autumn
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 17th September 2008




3.9 million DTT households in Germany
Digital TV penetration in Germany continues to grow and in July reached 46.7% up from 39.9% last year. Whilst the proportion of total households watching terrestrial TV has dropped from 11.5% to 11.1% during the year, the total watching TV on the DTT platform, has risen to 3.9 million households. Now 95.1% of terrestrial TV viewers watch digital terrestrial TV, up from 86% in 2007.
Source: Digitalisierungsbericht 2008 (ALM website)
Item added: 9th September 2008


Hesse launches DTT tender
The German state of Hesse has launched a tender for the use of a single TV channel on the multiplex already broadcasting on channel 64.
The channel would have potential viewer coverage of 6.4 Million in the Rhine-Maine area which includes the city of Frankfurt.
The multiplex currently broadcasts Eurosport, Tele 5 and the regional Rhein-Maine TV from other private broadcasters.
Applications must be submitted to the state media authority (Hessische Landesanstalt für privaten Rundfunk und neue Medien - LPR Hessen) by September
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 11th August 2008


Das Erste broadcast on UHF for DVB-T enabled phones
German broadcaster ARD has decided to keep DTT transmission of Das Erste in Bavaria on the UHF band. This is so that people with DVB-T enabled mobile phones can watch Olympic Games coverage. NDR also plans to broadcast Das Erste on a UHF multiplex in Northern Germany for the same reason.
ARD uses VHF channels for many of its DTT broadcasts but DVB-T enabled phones only have tuners for the UHF bands.
The expansion of the DTT network continues and new transmitters in the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia have started operation.
In this area of Central Germany, 8.9 million viewers are now able to receive DTT broadcasts.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 8th July 2008



DTT services at racetracks
Two racetracks, the Norisring near Nuremberg and the Nurburgring in the Eiffel region, have each received a DTT licence to provide live coverage of their events.
Reception is possible in the racetracks using a DTT receiver. Broadcasts are available free-to-air. In recent months mobile phone handsets with DVB-T receivers have been on sale in Germany.
Main source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 1st July 2008

DVB-H services launched
DVB-H services have been launched in Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt and Hanover by Mobile 3.0. In this the trial phase the service reception, encryption and real-time operation will be assessed. Full commercial services are expected to commence when Mobile 3.0 receives the necessary licences to operate.
Both free to air and encrypted services are available on both Nokia and Samsung handsets.
Source: Rapid TV News
Item added: 10th June 2008




O2 to offer hybrid DVB-T USB stick
Mobile operator O2 is to offer a hybrid USB stick in the German market according to Broadcast TV News. The stick allows both the reception of DVB-T broadcasts and HDSPA mobile broadband access. Delivery is expected to start in August, in time for the Olympics.
O2 have also joined with Vodafone and T-Mobile in offering LG phones with built in DVB-T receivers.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 20th May 2008



Mobile phones receive DVB-T
Vodafone and T-Mobile are to launch a range of LG designed mobile phones which receive DVB-T transmissions.
Recently Vodafone, T-Mobile and O2 were part of a consortium that bid for a DVB-H licence and lost out to Mobile 3.0.
Mobile 3.0 now plan to launch their DVB-H service in time for the EURO 2008 football championship.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 6th May 2008



Delays in DVB-H roll-out
The slow licensing process in some Germany states is likely to delay the launch of DVB-H services in parts of Germany until after the Euro 2008 football championships, reports Broadband TV News.
The issuing of licences is just a formality but not all states have cleared them and this is likely to result in Mobile 3.0 only reaching 20% of the German population instead of the planned 35%.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 28th April 2008



7.8 million DTT receivers sold
Research by GfK shows that since the introduction of DTT in November 2002, some 7.8 million sets have been sold in Germany.
Three million were set-top boxes, 1.8 million were IDTVs and 2.2 million were portable receivers including DVD players, USB sticks and DTT PC cards.
GfK also predict that 6 million DTT receivers will be sold in 2008.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 23rd March 2008

SES-Astra claim 9.75 million DTH homes
SES-Astra say the total number of DTH homes in Germany has now reached 9.75 million.
In total, Germany had 36.98 million analogue and digital TV homes last year.
The number of satellite households remained stable at 16.7 million amounting to 45% of all TV households. Cable serves 17.9 million TV homes (48.4%). Terrestrial television alone is watched in 2.3 million homes (6.3%).
Cable households declined by 600,000 in 2007 whilst the number of digital terrestrial TV households increased by 400,000 .
Digital TV penetration increased to 15.61 million households, with 9.88 million receiving DTV signals from satellite.Three million six hundred thousand TV homes (23.1 percent) receive TV via. digital cable, 2.06 million homes (13.2 percent) receive DTT and  50,000 households (0.03 percent) are currently being served via DSL, compared to 40,000 in 2006.
The share of analogue TV households continues to decrease and currently amounts to 21.4 million.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 23rd March 2008

DVB-T in mobile phones
Vodafone has showcased its smart phones able to receive DVB-T services at CeBIT. These phones are expected to be launched in Germany later this year.
Two smart phone models have been showcased, the HB620T from LG and the T600 DVB-T from GSmart. The HB620T is said to allow 2 hours of DVB-T viewing on a single battery charge.
Main source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 10th March 2008


HD take up in Germany may be slow
According to Markus Schächter, head of German public broadcaster ZDF, HDTV take up in Germany is likely to be slow.
“HDTV and conventional digital television will exist side-by-side for many years”, said Schächter before ZDF’s television supervisory board in Düsseldorf. “We are positioning ourselves for a long so-called simulcast period. The experience of previous years, which brought only a very sluggish transition from analogue to digital television in Germany, indicates that we will have to draw a long breath before the introduction of high definition television penetrates the market.”
He went on to say that it would help if there were an obligatory switch date for the distribution of analogue TV services.
Most Germans receive their television signals from cable systems and Schächter said that he was concerned with the slow pace of discussions with cable operators over the introduction of HDTV. They are said to be wanting ‘large financial payments’ to distribute HDTV programmes and are not looking at the benefits that it would bring to their customers, he is reported to have said.
ZDF and fellow public broadcaster ARD will introduce regular HDTV transmissions from the start of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in February 2010. According to Schächter, around a quarter of ZDF’s programmes will be available daily in high definition from this point onwards. In the meantime there will be numerous test runs, including HDTV showcases to be screened at yearly consumer electronics fair Internationale Funkausstellung in Berlin, during Christmas and for the Athletics World Championships 2009 in Berlin
Source: Rapid TV News
Item added: 4th March 2008


More DVB-H licences for Mobile 3.0
The city of Bremen has issued a licence to Mobile 3.0 for the launch its DVB-H service before the Euro 2008 Football Championships. Further licences have also been issued in the states of Saxony, Thüringen and Hesse according to Broadband TV News.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 4th March 2008


T-Systems Media and Broadcasting renamed
Deutsche Telekom’s broadcast services subsidiary, T-Systems Media and Broadcasting has been renamed as, Media Broadcast by its new owner TDF.
French company TDF acquired T-Systems Media and Broadcast, which has around 1,250 employees, in January 2008.
Media Broadcast operates most of the analogue and digital terrestrial TV and radio transmitters in Germany.
Source: Rapid TV News
Item added: 26th February 2008

Mobile 3.0 DVB-H launch plans released
DVB-H services are expected to launch in time for the Euro 2008 Football Championship in June reports Broadband TV News. 
Initially, only major cities will be able to access services, including Cologne/Bonn, Berlin, Hamburg and Munich.
However, by the end of the year, services will be available in all regional capitals, amounting to approximately 40% of the population.
The DVB-H network will be operated by T-Systems Media and Broadcasting, recently acquired by TDF.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 29th January 2008

Mobile 3.0 wins DVB-H operator licence
As expected the Media Authorities have awarded the licence to operate DVB-H services to Mobile 3.0
Services are expected to be launched in urban areas on the 1st June using a network to be built by T-Systems.
Services will include public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, commercial broadcasters RTL, SAT.1, Pro Sieben, VOX, n-tv and N24 as well as 6-7 further services not yet announced. Multimedia radio services will be provided by Digital 5, bigBuddy and kick.fm.
Mobile 3.0 is backed by Mobiles Fernsehen Deutschland (MFD), which operates T-DMB services, and Neva Media.
Main source: Rapid TV News
Item added: 22nd January 2008

T-Systems expands DTT coverage
Deutsche Telekom’s broadcast services subsidiary T-Systems Media & Broadcast has further increased its DTT coverage this year, reports Rapid TV News.
A total of 26 locations with 78 transmitters were added in 2007, the latest being the federal state of Saarland on December 13.
DTT can now be received by 68 million German inhabitants, corresponding with 85 per cent of the population. “In nearly every regional state the coverage has been expanded to almost complete coverage,” said CEO Helmut Egenbauer. “There are currently more than 9 million DTT receivers on the market offering a broad choice. The high acceptance amongst end consumers of this transmission method is a clear signal of its successful implementation.” Together with ARD and ZDF, T-Systems Media & Broadcast plans to increase DTT coverage next year to at least 90 per cent of the population. A further 22 locations in five states will be upgraded to achieve this.
Source: Rapid TV News
Item added: 18th December 2007



18 million digital STBs in Germany
Broadband TV News reports that there are 18 million digital STBs in German homes, according to estimates made by the consumer electronics association Zentralverbandes Elektrotechnik- und Elektronikindustrie (ZVEI).
11 million of these are satellite receivers, 5.5 million are DTT receivers and 1.5 million are cable tuners. The figures are based on German retail sales and comprise of set-top boxes, integrated digital TV sets, PC cards, and portable DTT receivers. USB tuner sticks were not included.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 4th December 2007

Commercial broadcasters on Saarland and Leipzig DTT platform
Private broadcasters are set to join the new DTT service in the state of Saarland and the city of Leipzig.
Four multiplexes will start broadcasting from December 13th with three offering public broadcasts and the fourth providing regional broadcasts.
Low power local transmitters will also be launched before the end of the year covering Leipzig and the surrounding area and are expected to provide services at a much lower cost than on the main multiplexes.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 30th October 2007

EU declares aid in North Rhine Westphalia illegal
The European Commission has decided that German plans to finance part of the fees commercial broadcasters pay for the transmission of their programs on the digital terrestrial television (DVB-T) network in the German Land of North Rhine-Westphalia are not compatible with the EC state aid rules.
The planned aid violates EC state aid rules. The EC Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes stated: "The transition to digital broadcasting has many advantages for consumers and innovation. However, State support must target specific issues where the market does not provide solutions and must not be discriminatory, in particular between terrestrial, cable and satellite transmission."
Source: EC press release
Item added: 30th October 2007

Mobile 3.0 expected to win DVB-H operator licence
The Mobile platform operator licence for the recently announced DVB-H network (being deployed by T-Systems) is expected to be awarded to Mobile 3.0.
Mobile 3.0 is a joint venture between German media company Mobiles Fernsehen Deutschland (MFD) and Neva Media.
According to the Federal Media Authorities mobile 3.0 has until the 9th November to present a plan of how the platform capacity will be allocated to broadcasters. These allocations must include regional services as well as four radio programme services.In total 29 applications were received for the licence to operate the platform which is due for launch before the European Soccer championships in 2008.
Source: Rapid TV News
Item added: 23rd October 2007

T-Systems wins licence to deploy DVB-H network in Germany
German telecommunications regulator BNA has selected T-Systems Media&Broadcast to deploy a Germany-wide DVB-H network for mobile TV services.
BNA said that the network deployment would start in the spring of 2008 in Hannover so that DVB-H applications can be shown during the Cebit trade fair in March.
The DVB-H service will then be extended to all the other state capital cities before the end of 2008 and to all German cities with more than 150,000 inhabitants in 2009. The four biggest cities in each state with populations of more than 100,000 will follow with the final goal being 90% coverage of the German population in 2015.
Source: Telecompaper
Item added: 16th October 2007

DTT services extended to more parts of Bavaria
The regions of Schwaben and Altbayern join the digital switchover on the 27th November 2007, when Augsburg Welden, Hohenpeissenberg, Pfaffenhofen , Landshut, Baden-Wuertttemburg, Ravensburg and Ulm become digital.
Public service broadcasters including Das Erste, ZDF, Bayerisches Fernsehen, BRalpha, 3sat, PHOENIX, arte, EinsPlus, KI.KA, SWR-Fernsehen, ZDFdokukanal and ZDFinfokanal will transmit 12 DTT program services on the new platform.
Source: Bayerischer Rundfunk press release
Item added: 25th September 2007

Jointly owned mobile TV platform okay !
Germany's cartel office has agreed that mobile phone operators T-Mobile, Vodafone and O2 can create a jointly owned and managed platform for broadcast mobile television using DVB-H.The cartel office has also agreed that the German operators can purchase programming together, but each operator will need to market their services separately.
Source: DTG website
Item added: 18th September 2007



ZDF sets out roadmap to HD
At IFA2007, ZDF chief Markus Schächter laid out the roadmap to HD for the public broadcaster, reports Broadband TV News.
He said: “We are waiting until the infrastructure conditions make a meaningful distribution possible.
We, that is ARD and ZDF, have agreed to start simultaneous HD transmissions from early 2010.
That year we will have the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and the World Cup in South Africa.”
The broadcaster emphasised that it is very active in the field of new media, including mobile TV, online on-demand programming and the nationwide rollout of DTT, but that as a public broadcaster they must carefully weigh each decision, as it is public money they are spending.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 14th September 2007

German DTT market continues to grow
TNS Infratest have released figures, which show that the number of terrestrial TV households has climbed from 9.2% to 11.5% during the past year. This is very significant in a market, which has been dominated by cable TV for many years.
The growth is highest (16%) in areas where both commercial and public service broadcasts are available on the DTT platform.
In total 86% of all terrestrial households have converted from analogue to digital TV.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 3rd September 2007

Low cost DTT initiative attracts applicants
The low cost DTT initiative in the city of Leipzig has prompted applications from Leipzig Fernsehen, BBC World, Bibel TV and a new local city information channel. Two local radio stations, Radio Leipzig and catholic broadcaster Radio Horeb also want to join the line up. The local media authority has said that it expects all, the applications to be honoured however a formal decision is not expected until the 24th September. If the services get the go ahead they will increase the DTT channel offering in Leipzig from 13 to 17.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 21st August 2007



Still more DVB-H services for Germany
German mobile TV operator MFD and NEVA Media have set up a joint venture to run mobile TV services in Germany and applied for licences. The former competitors plan to launch a mobile TV service in 2008 if their applications are successful.
A decision on the licence award is expected from the state media authority before the end of 2007.
MFD already have a nationwide licence to provide services via the DAB based DMB standard but the recent EU announcement backing a single European mobile standard using DVB-H may cause problems to its long-term availability.
Main source: Telecompaper
Item added: 14th August 2007

More DVB-H services for Germany
Recent reports suggest that Telecom companies, T-mobile, Vodafone D2 and CO2 may cooperate in the introduction of a mobile TV service using DVB-H technology.
The Federal Cartel Office in Bonn has no objection to the arrangement, which will make the most efficient use of scarce frequency resources.
The consortium hopes to launch a 16-programme service in spring of 2008.
Source: Finanzen.net
Item added: 14th August 2007

Germany has 9.59 million digital homes
The latest figures from AGF/GfK Fernsehforschung show that Germany now has 35.02 million TV households of which 9.59 million (27.4%) receive TV digitally on DTT cable or DTH systems. These figures are published on a monthly basis by AGF/GfK.
Thanks to Broadband TV News for highlighting this data source.
Source: AGF/GfK Fernsehforschung
Item added: 10th July 2007

DTT coverage to reach 80% by the end of 2007
T-Systems predict that another 8 million potential viewers will be able to receive DTT by the end of the year, bringing the total to 64 million.
June the 12th will see a launch in the Munster area followed by the city of Aachen in November.
The southern parts of Baden-Wurttemberg will see the launch of DTT on July 10th and then the cities of Dresden, Chemnitz and Gera on the 23rd July.
Further DTT expansions are planned for Saxony-Anhalt, Rhineland-Palatina, Lower Saxony and Saarland during the year.
Source: Broadband TV news
Item added: 8th May 2007

Leipzig to launch pilot commercial DTT MUX
The media authority of the state of Saxony, has agreed the launch of a special pilot DTT multiplex for up to four commercial broadcasters.
A network of five low power transmitters will be built to serve the urban area of Leipzig and is expected to cover 200,000 households. It is hoped that the new network will keep costs low so that local and regional broadcasters can participate. This has not been possible with the current network of high power stations, which are too expensive when serving small audiences. The new network will have room for a minimum of four TV programmes and will use cross polarization to improve reception by mobile receivers.
Source: Broadband TV news
Item added: 10th April 2007

DTT coverage extended in the North of Germany
DTT services have been launched in Lüneburger Heide and Wendland, in the northeastern part of the Land of Lower Saxony. Viewers in these areas are able to receive 11 television programme services and 1 data services.
The new services include Das Erste, PHOENIX, ARTE, EinsExtra, NDR, WDR, MDR, HR Fernsehen, ZDF, 3sat, KI.KA as well as a ZDF digitext.
Regional broadcaster NDR expects to provide 90% of its terrestrial television signals digitally by the end of the year.
Original source: Das UberallFernsehen website (thanks to Digitag for the translation)
Item added: 13th March 2007


Regulator for Baden-Wuerttemberg prepares for DVB-H launch
The Media regulator for Baden-Wuerttemberg, LFK, together with media regulators from other regions has begun the procedure necessary for the selection of a DVB-H service provider
Candidates can submit their request for a nationwide DVB-H license which should allow for an offer of 16 television and radio programme services. Applications must be submitted to the LFK by 13 April 2007.
It is expected that the DVB-H services will be commercially available by Spring 2008.
Source: LFK website
Item added: 13th March 2007

Germans want their mobile TV
According to research by Medienkommission carried out for ARD/ZDF in November 2006, 13% of the German population are interested in mobile TV but they don’t particularly want to watch it on mobile phones. Younger participants in the survey said they would like to watch mobile TV on their MPS player or iPod; others would like to watch on handheld receivers and laptops.
The research shows people are interested in watching mobile TV when they are on long trips and while they are waiting for the doctor or at the barbers. The service should also be free: 87% of all respondents said they want the ARD and ZDF channels to be available at no charge.
Source: Broadband TV news
Item added: 13^th February 2007

7 million DTT receivers operating
Over 7 million DTT receivers have been sold in Germany according to the DVB-T taskforce. This brings the percentage of German terrestrial households viewing DTT to 60%. By the end of December the DTT coverage was 75% of the population.
DTT launches planned for 2007 will include: Lüneburger Heide, Münster, Südwestfalen, Sachsen, Sachsen -Anhalt, Thüringen, Saarland, Baden-Württemberg and Rheinland-Pfalz. Source: DVB-T Taskforce press release
Item added: 16th January 2007

Digital TV on the west coast
Schleswig-Holestein on the west coast of Germany has become the latest region to get Digital Terrestrial TV. The service began on the 24th October and provides eleven public channels.
Source: lr-online
Item added: 26th October 2006

DTT starts in Oberpalz and Niederbayern during December 2006
On the 6th December digital terrestrial television will officially start in the Oberpalz and Niederbayern regions of Bavaria.
At present three DTT transmitters are operating in the region and this will soon be increased to twelve, providing coverage to the inhabitants of the Landshut, Passau, Staubing and Regensburg areas.
Source: DSLteam.de
Item added: 10th October 2006

DVB-T penetration increases
Recent reports put the number of DVB-T receivers sold in Germany at 5 million up to August 2006. 3.5 million of these were set top boxes and IDTV’s, and the remaining 1.5 million were PC cards, USB sticks, pocket receivers and in-car receivers.
Source: DVB
Item added: 4th October 2006

Staufenberg becomes the latest for analogue switch-off
NDR has announced that analogue switch-off will take place in the region of Staufenberg on 10 October. Other regions affected include Münden, Hedemünden and Oberode.
Commercial broadcasters have decided not to provide their services on the DTT platform will only be available on satellite or cable systems.
Analogue switch-off is expected to be completed by 2010.
Source: HNA Online
Item added: 26th September 2006

German Mobile TV Tests Successful
Mobile TV tests using DVB-H in Hanover, Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, started back in May have proved to be a great success.
Users were impressed by the excellent picture quality, good reception and the extensive range of programmes made available.
The project was launched for the football World Cup by the German mobile network operators E-Plus, O2, T-Mobile and Vodafone and all four operators are convinced that handsets based on DVB-H can be genuinely successful business.
They firmly believe that interactive entertainment and information-based services can provide a positive benefit as an educational and business tool.
To deploy the system across Germany a network infrastructure must be created and whilst the network operators have the money ready to invest, the stumbling block is the availability of suitable frequencies. Until regulatory authorities can guarantee that spectrum will be available Germany must wait for DVB-H services. Already Finland and Italy are going ahead with these new services and German operators wish to do the same.
Source: Cellular News
Item added: 29th August 2006

DVB-H services for FIFA World Cup
28 May 2006
Next month's FIFA World Cup competition in Germany will see the start of a widescale evalution of the DVB-H system in preparation for the launch of commercial services in 2007. The German mobile network operators (E-Plus, O2, T-Mobile and Vodafone D2) will cooperate in putting services on air in four cities: Berlin, Hamburg, Hannover and Munich. T-Systems will operate the DVB-H platform along with the transmitter network. 14 TV programmes and 6 radio programmes will be included in the service. The terminals will be provided by BenQ, Motorola, Nokia, Sagem and Samsung.
One of the key aspects of this set of trial broadcasts is that the system will be compliant with DVB´s IP Datacast set of specifications. These specifications allow for the provision of such essential features as an electronic service guide (ESG), service purchase and protection (SPP) and a range of other crucial elements for a mobile TV service. As with all DVB specifications, the IP Datacast specifications are open standards and promote maximum interoperability. The DVB-H network will use QPSK with an FEC rate of 2/3.

The regional media authorities in Berlin and Brandenburg (mabb), Hamburg (HAM), Niedersachsen (NLM) and Bayern (BLM) have created the necessary conditions for the trial - in close cooperation with the mobile network operators and the content providers. They are committed to working towards a rapid market introduction.

Detailed information on DVB-H technology, trials and service launches can be found at www.dvb-h.org.
Item added: 1st June 2006

DVB-T deployed in the Southwest
DVB-T services are continuing to be deployed in the Southwest of Germany and will start on the May 17th in the Ludwigshafen and Vorderpfalz areas and on the 22nd May in Kaiserslautern, according to Hiese on-line.
Transmissions also start in Mannheim, Heidelberg and Stuttgart at the same time.
Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate will also be covered shortly, leaving the Saarland as the only area still to be covered. Full coverage in the Southwest is expected to be completed by 2008.
Source: Heise on-line
Item added: 16th May 2006

More DTT launches expected in May
Stuttgart, Ludwigshafen, Mannheim, Heidelberg and Kaiserslauten will be able to access DTT services around the middle of May.
In the northern part of Germany, Northrein-Westphalia as well in Bavaria additional transmitter-sites will extend the current coverage of DTT services.
Viewers will have access to up to 11 television programme services offered by the public service broadcasters but at this stage, the commercial broadcasters have decided not to extend their given coverage on the DTT platform.
The launch of DTT services will coincide with the simultaneous switch-off of analogue terrestrial television services, following the example of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which switched over  in December 2005. The state of Hess will also completely switch off its analogue terrestrial platform and go completely digital on 29 May.
With the upcoming World Cup, further regions in Germany will benefit from the launch of free-to-air DTT services.
Source: SWR.de  and Digitag

DTT launches expected in Bavaria
More parts of Bavaria will be covered by DTT services on the 29th May.
These areas include Wurzburg and Regensburg as well as parts of Upper Palatinate, Lower Bavaria and Lower Franconia.
Twelve programmes from public broadcasters will be available in these areas as they are already in Munich, Southern Bavaria and Nuremburg.
By the end of 2008, 90% of Germany will have access to DTT services.
Source: DVB-T Bavaria
Item added: 30th March 2006

"Handy-TV" project in Hamburg generates lots of DVB-H proposals
A request for interest in the pilot project "Handy-TV" from the Hamburgischen Anstalt fuer neue Medien (HAM), brought in applications and statements of interest from both DVB-H and DMB proponents.
The call for applications ended on February 3rd with more than 40 entries, most relating to DVB-H.
In Germany DVB-H services will initially be introduced via pilot projects in Hamburg, Berlin and Hannover.
Ham director Dr. Lothar Jene commented that " The pilot projects will function as door openers and the number of important players expressing interest in DVB-H is a good indication of its future success. We hope to start in three metropolitan areas within the next three months".
Source: Ham press release
Item added: 7th February 2006

Aachen to launch DTT services
Plans have been announced for the launch of DTT services in the city of Aachen, a German city located near the border with Belgium and the Netherlands.
Viewers will be able to access 12 television programme services made available by public service broadcasters. Commercial broadcasters have decided against joining the launch since the launch area does include a sufficiently high number of households to be profitable.
Services are expected to be launched in mid 2007.
Source: Digitag and  Aachener Zeitung


Premiere shifts HDTV start date
Premiere has delayed the launch of its new HDTV satellite service by two weeks to allow for the late delivery of its MPEG-4 capable set-top boxes for German and Austrian customers.
The delay is due to the late delivery to the manufacturers of MPEG-4, HDTV decoder chips.
Premiere expect the new launch date for HDTV services to be December 3rd, 2005.
MPEG-4/H.264 coded TV programmes in 1080i have already been broadcast since August 2005 and it is only the set-top boxes which are delaying the official launch of the new DVB-S2 based service.
Source: golem.de
Item added: 8th November 2005

More DTT launches in Germany
DVB-T services in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern region will begin on the 6th of December 2005, further expanding the coverage of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) in Germany.

At launch only public service broadcasters will be present on the platform as local commercial broadcasters are not yet ready to participate in DTT.

The deputy director of NDR, Joachim Lampe commented that DVB-T services are already popular with young people. He noted that many DT receivers have been purchased for use on home and laptop computers.
Demand is expected to rise as the World Cup Championship season approaches and viewers look to more flexible viewing approaches.

DTT will also be launched on the 14th December in the Osnabrueck, Lingen and Goettingen regions.
Source: Zdnet
Item added: 1st November 2005

Germany to expand DTT coverage
Germany’s public broadcasters have committed to bring digital terrestrial television to 90% of the population. The move will take DTT out of the major conurbations and into more rural areas. By the end of the year DTT will be available to 45 million German residents, boosted by Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which is scheduled to launch digital services in December.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 29th September 2005


DVB-H trial in Berlin
Germany's Bundesliga premier soccer league will start broadcasting games live to mobile phones at the end of September 2005 according to Reuters news agency.
The pilot project involves Microsoft, operator DFL and Bundesliga.
Games will be broadcast using the DVB-H standard to a limited group of users with smart phones based on Windows media software. The test phase will last until the end of the current season according to a DFL statement.
Source: Reuters
Item added: 13th September 2005

Analogue switched off in parts of Bavaria
On August 31st 2005, the terrestrial analogue signal was switched off in Munich, Nuremburg and parts of southern Bavaria. This follows a three month simulcast period during which both digital and analogue terrestrial signals were broadcast. Viewers can access 20 television programme some of them having MHP services.
Source: Digitag
Item added: 6th September 2005

Previous

Digital Television reaches nine million TV households
A recent report commissioned by the national broadcast regulator estimates that nine million TV households, 25.7% of German total, now receive television by digital means.
Nearly 40% of satellite viewers do so digitally and in total 45% of all households get their TV from satellite. The report goes on to say that 10% of TV households rely on terrestrial TV and that 46% of these now receive  digitally. Cable television is available in over 50% of TV households but only 10% of subscribers access digital signals.
Source: Heise Online
Item added: 30th August 2005

Siemens commits further to the DVB-H market
On August 23rd Siemens announced that it would provide a live DVB-H service at IFA2005 in Berlin.
To demonstrate "Mobile TV", Siemens will for the first time use its new DVB-H test system comprising server platform for mobile television and a handset prototype capable of receiving DVB-H services. The equipment enables mobile operators to conduct DVB-H trials with relatively little effort, for example to test the level of acceptance for Mobile TV among consumers a spokesman said.
Siemens joins the growing number of influential companies backing the DVB-H system for  broadcast to mobile phones.
Sources: Unwired   and     Slashphone
Item added: 25th August 2005

Roadmap to DVB-H Services in Northern Germany announced
The Media Authorities of five North German Länder last week announced their intention to work together towards the introduction of DVB-H services and published a paper supporting that position. The paper, titled Projekt DVB-H Norddeutschland, expresses their intent to smooth the way for the introduction of "Handy-TV" and to facilitate a rapid market introduction. It is hoped to fully test the technology with trial broadcasts during the 2006 World Cup Finals followed by the launch of regular services in 2007.

The project grouping comprises the media authorities from the following states:  Bremen , Hamburg , Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen and Schleswig-Holstein. A press release including the text of the position paper is available here: http://www.ham-online.de/details.php?id=73 (in German only)
Item added: 24 August 2005

DVB-T start date for the Middle of Germany
DVB-T services are planned to start in the Halle/Leipzig and Erfurt/Weimar areas of Germany on December 5th 2005.
This launch is in line with the plan to launch DVB-T services all over Germany.
The first launch was in the Berlin/Brandenburg area during 2002 and further launches have taken place since in Northern Germany, North Rhine Westphalia, the Rhine Mainz area and most recently at the end of May 2005 in the Munich/Nurenburg area.
Introduction in the Kassel and Schwerin areas should  be announced soon.
The introduction in Mannheim and Stuttgart areas is at an earlier planning stage.
Item added: 25th July 2005
Source: http://www.ueberallfernsehen.de

Bavaria commences DTT broadcasting
Pre-launch DTT test signals in Munich and Nurenburg began on the 23rd May 2005 ready for a full launch planned for the 30th May at 19:30. It is estimated that 6 million people will have access to these DTT signals.

Terrestrial commercial analogue broadcasting will also end on the 30th May with public broadcasting continuing until the end of August on temporary channel assignments.
Source: Digitag
Item added: 23rd May 2005

DVB-T in Germany - the second set-up phase is in full swing

Following the successful expansion of the DVB-T network in Germany's capital Berlin, the next phase is now underway. Since 24 May 2004, up to 20 TV programs on five channels can be received in the Cologne / Bonn area, and up to 16 TV programs on four channels each in Hanover / Braunschweig and Bremen / Unterweser. In November 2004, additional channels will start operation; the areas to be covered include the Dusseldorf area / Ruhr district, Hamburg, Lubeck, Kiel and the Rhine-Main area. The final expansion of this phase in these areas, with up to 24 programs, is scheduled for April 2005. The launch date for DVB-T in Bavaria is planned for 31 May 2005. In the course of 2005, the network will be further expanded in the reception areas of Rostock / Schwerin, Kassel, Erfurt / Weimar, Halle / Leipzig, Ludwigshafen / Mannheim as well as Stuttgart.
Source: News from Rohde & Schwarz Number 183 (2004/III)

For more up to date information on deployment in Germany try
http://www.ueberallfernsehen.de

The information provided comes from several sources and whilst DVB believe it to be correct we cannot guarantee its accuracy.

If you have more up to date information or corrections please send them to dvb@dvb.org 

Last page update: 16th December 2008, Barry Tew