Digital TV Broadcasts to Start With Frequency Plans Prepared at Bilkent

Photograph by Aydın Ramazanoğlu

Turkey will end analog television broadcasting in 2015. After that date all TV broadcasts will be in digital format. Digital broadcasting will allow for more channels and better picture quality over the air. Frequency plans for digital television broadcasting as well as all FM radio broadcasting have been prepared by the Communications and Spectrum Management Research Center (İSYAM) of Bilkent University in cooperation with the Supreme Council for Radio and TV (RTÜK) and Gate Elektronik A.Ş. under a contractual arrangement known as the KARTEF project.
A ceremony to mark the completion of the project was held on Thursday, April 11 in EE-01. The chair of RTÜK, Prof. Davut Dursun, and Deputy Chair Taha Yücel (a Bilkent graduate) were among the attendees. Prof. Dursun thanked Bilkent for the technical success of the preparation of the frequency plans and called KARTEF “an excellent example of university-industry-public sector collaboration.” Frequencies designated in the plans will be auctioned this week (April 16-18) to eligible broadcasters, according to Prof. Dursun, after which licenses for frequency use will be distributed.
Rector Abdullah Atalar, who spoke at the ceremony, highlighted Bilkent’s exemplary contributions to the field of communications and information theory. He also congratulated İSYAM Director Prof. Ayhan Altıntaş and other engineers for their hard work.
Following the ceremony, a photo session and presentation of plaques took place