11.43 Europe/London, September 29, 2011
Russia has decided to opt for the DVB-T2 standard for its digital terrestrial services and will now set up pilots in eight cities.
Several local reports say the decision was made last week by a government commission chaired by Igor Shuvalov, the deputy PM.
It will result in all new DTT networks employing DVB-T2 and those that have already been constructed switching to the standard.
The Federal Target Programme (FTP) for Development of Broadcasting in the Russian Federation 2009-2015 will also be amended accordingly.
The eight cities where the DVB-T2 trials will take place are Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Kaliningrad, Kursk, Kazan, Sochi, St Petersburg and the capital, Moscow.
DVB-T2 is gaining favour in several European countries.
In France, for instance, the CSA has already recommended a transition to DVB-T2/MPEG-4 as soon as possible, while in Croatia the regulator HAKOM has published minimum technical standards for both DVB-T and DVB-T2.
