ITU International Symposium on the Digital Switchover

On 16 June 2006, a treaty agreement was signed at the conclusion of ITU’s Regional Radiocommunication Conference (RRC-06) in Geneva, heralding the development of ‘all-digital’ terrestrial broadcast services for sound and television. The digitalization of broadcasting in Europe, Africa, Middle East and the Islamic Republic of Iran by a target date of 17 June 2015 represents a major milestone towards establishing a more equitable, just and people-centred Information Society connecting the unconnected in underserved and remote communities and closing the digital divide. The new digital GE06 Plan provides not only new possibilities for structured development of digital terrestrial broadcasting but also sufficient flexibilities for adaptation to the changing telecommunication environment. The GE06 Agreement triggered the analogue to digital broadcasting switchover world-wide.

The Symposium will provide background information on the GE06 Agreement, on the actual situation with respect to the analogue to digital switchover world-wide and on the potential future use of digital TV by the broadcasters in all three ITU Regions, taking into account new television systems such as HDTV and UHDTV on one hand and the allocation of the UHF band to other services known as a “digital dividend” on the other hand. The Symposium will be accompanied by technical demonstrations.
This Symposium will cover the following topics:
The Symposium will conclude with a high-level round table discussion and will honor the contribution of outstanding persons to the Geneva 2006 Agreement.
All ITU membership: Member States, Sector Members, Associates, Academia are invited to attend this event.
Participants are required to register online through their respective Designated Focal Points (DFP)*, before 29 May 2015
The UN accredited media are also invited. Media Advisory to follow.
This Symposium provides an excellent opportunity for dialogues among multi-stakeholders in public and private sectors; it also features a small exhibition to showcase innovative products and services of ITU members in the TV industry.

(*)
Participants representing ITU-T or ITU-D Sector Members and Associates that do not have a DFP for registration to ITU-R activities are invited to contact ITU-R.Registrations@itu.int to be registered to this event.