30 November 2006

Austria celebrates its national day every year on October 26th. In addition to the usual celebrations, this year that day also saw the launch of the country's DVB-T network with extensive MHP services integrated from the start. In fact, Austria is the first country in the world to launch services based on MHP 1.1.2, with the stated aim of providing a nationwide supply of TV programming and multimedia-based services in a new and future-proof way, with no monthly charges. In the first phase of the rollout, ORS (Austrian Broadcasting Services) has used 11 transmitters to reach about 70% of the population with a single multiplex. Next year will see the rollout of a second multiplex.

Television viewers in Austria , where up to 40% of the population watch analogue services, have typically been regular users of the teletext information service. Therefore it was important to be able to replicate and enhance such services on the digital platform. The new multimedia service is known as MHP MultiText. The service offers new features such as integrated pictures and picture-in-picture functionality.

MHP Multitext is seen as a means of bridging the digital divide by making the multimedia world accessible to everyone. To back up this vision the Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunictions has put in place a subsidy for approved MHP-enabled receivers. The first 100,000 households to purchase such a receiver will receive a subsidy of €40. There is a further subsidy available for low income households.

Preparation for the rollout of MHP services in Austria began with the !TV4Graz pilot project in 2004. Since then much work has been done on improving user interfaces and developing editorial systems, as well as developing the capabilities of the interactive channel. Alongside the EPG, broadcasters in Austria are also now offering various information portals dealing with news, sports, weather, etc... The Interactive Application Centre provided by Siemens was recently used to offer a chat application in parallel with the Starmania audition show.

For more in depth information about the launch of DVB-T and MHP in Austria, see Issue #20 of DVB-SCENE.

You can also visit: www.dvb-t.at (information in German)