SADIBA Studies DVB-T2 Coverage and Antennas
The on-going activities of the SADIBA DTT Planning work group has seen the publication of three studies on the implementation of DTT. In this fourth study the work group investigated the likely performance of the installed home antenna base and the ability of these antenna to receive the new frequencies that would be used for DTT.
Thanks to the support of several SADIBA members the working group was able to characterise the performance of numerous antennas typically found at homes throughout Southern Africa.
Based on the characterised antenna performance the ability of households to receive the DTT services at the new frequencies was derived and the population impact calculated.This first phase of the study is focussed on Gauteng in South Africa. A national impact assessment is required to derive to total national South Africa homes impacted.
The study provides useful information for SADC counties as the use and prevalence of band -segmented receive antennas is relevant throughout in the region. The de-coupling factors derived are immediately useful to any similar impact assessment studies throughout the region.