Bolivia. GatesAir is working closely with regional partner Sonotec, to achieve the successful transition from private broadcaster ATB Bolivia to ISDB-Tb digital television in the cities of Cochabamba and La Paz, fulfilling the first government mandate to deliver DTV programming in these two cities and the city of Santa Cruz within a six-month period.
GatesAir supplied its state-of-the-art, high-efficiency liquid-cooled Maxiva ULXTE transmitters to support the transition in Cochabamba and La Paz, with an accelerated delivery schedule that allowed Sonotec to install and commission both systems by the June deadline.
The Government of Bolivia adopted the ISDB-Tb standard in 2011, and is now in phase one of a gradual transition at the national level to be completed in 2024. ATB chose GatesAir for the Cochabamba and La Paz projects because of the longevity and reliability and performance of analog TV transmitters in service for many years across the country.
The new DTV systems broadcast an ISDB-Tb HD channel and a mobile channel to towns within and near the city limits, with satellite retransmission to television service providers in rural areas, in accordance with Bolivian government regulations. ATB anticipates that a third DTV channel will be added to the network shortly, noting that ULXTE's exceptional bandwidth will help maximize isDB-Tb spectrum.
"While the Santa Cruz site had an existing analog TV transmitter that we were able to convert in the field, the Cochabamba and La Paz sites were very challenging as we needed new transmitters that could work with the existing RF infrastructure. So far we have experienced a noticeable improvement in signal quality and expanded coverage in all these regions with the GatesAir system, along with a flexible architecture that supports the introduction of new channels and services. These high-performance digital television workflows will dynamically change the television business in Bolivia as it represents a major economic and financial effort for our nation's broadcasters," said Javier Fernandez, CTO of ATB.
ATB specifically selected the Maxiva ULXTE transmitter because of the efficiencies of its liquid-cooled design. According to Fernández, this design greatly reduces the use of air conditioning, reducing total energy consumption. That will eventually translate into much lower energy bills when current air-cooled analog TV transmitters are completely eliminated.
Fernandez adds that the ULXTE design also provides stronger efficiencies in other operational and maintenance aspects.
To ensure a smooth installation and commissioning process, GatesAir's regional sales engineers held local training seminars, followed by on-site visits, efforts fully recognized and appreciated by the Sonotec and ATB Bolivia teams.
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