Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), 21 December 2013 – Mongolian 1st digital terrestrial TV network operator MNBC decided in May 2012 to move from DVB-T standard to DVB-T2 standard. The objective is to be able to broadcast 100-120 digital TV channels over 4-5 UHF transponders and keep the No.1 terrestrial TV broadcaster position and compete with the national satellite DTH operators in the country.
Started in 2007 with the 1st generation European digital terrestrial TV standard DVB-T, MNBC has been broadcasting 48 MPEG2 SD channels by using 4 UHF transponders to more than 30,000 subscribers in pay TV mode. Four high power DVB-T transmitters of 1000W located in the site of MNB cover the whole city of Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar. Low power repeaters, installed on the Chingeltei, extend the coverage to the suburb of the city.
The transition from DVB-T to DVB-T2 standards will take place in 2 phases. The 1st phase consists of adding a new DVB-T2 transmitter of 1000W in channel 28 and converting one of the old DVB-T transmitter to DVB-T2 by changing the exciter. These 2 new DVB-T2 transponders will release a total bandwidth of 90Mb/s, make it possible to broadcast 30-40 SD and HD channels in MPEG4/H.264. The old DVB-T and new DVB-T2 systems will co-exist for a certain period time. MNBC will keep the simulcast of DVB-T MPEG2 SD and DVB-T2 MPEG4 SD/HD. In the 2nd phase, all the 5 UHF transponders will be converted to DVB-T2 and the system will reach its full capacity of 100-120 digital TV channels in 2014.
For more details about the project, please refer to MNBC Project Profile.