As DAB system developers in the Eureka 147 consortium and the EBU move towards the establishment of a complete system specification, and as broadcasters express increasing interest in opening DAB services as soon as 1995, the question of service planning gains in importance. This progress report on service planning studies for DAB single frequency networks (SFN) contains valuable preliminary data concerning required field-strengths and protection ratios for terrestrial DAB services (including protection to and from other broadcast systems such as television and FM radio).

DAB SFNs offer greatest spectrum efficiency if they use many closely – spaced low – power transmitters. However the first terrestrial DAB services will most probably be incorporated within the existing broadcast transmitting – station infrastructure and the article presents the results of coverage predictions for practical DAB SFNs serving large regions from existing transmitter sites.

Further work is required on many aspects of DAB service planning, to refine the prediction models used and ensure that the launch of DAB programme services is not compromised by inadequate coverage.

WARC-92 was the first opportunity since 1979 for broadcasters – and indeed other users of radio spectrum – to state their case for modifications or additions to the existing frequency allocations for certain of the services for which they have a responsibilty.

The intervening twelve years had seen some significant changes in the bands falling under the scrutiny of WARC-92. These were, most notably an increase in congestion in the HF bands allocated to international broadcasting (especially below 10 MHz), and the development – at least in prototype form – of two major new broadcasting systems: Digital Audio Broadcasting, requiring frequencies in the UHF range, and wide RF band HDTV for which a new frequency band in the vicinity of 20 GHz was deemed approporiate.

Broadcasters were therefore especially concerned, at WARC-92, to safeguard their future in these three important areas, whilst remaining attentive to all other aspects of the Conference which might have a influence on present or future broadcasting services.

The article describes the demonstration of 20 GHz wideband digital HDTV satellite broadcasting technologies organized by the EBU during WARC-92. It opens with an explanation of the justification for additional broadcast channels for these services, and continues with the objectives of the demonstration. There follows an outline description of the hardware configuration used and the programme-material shown.

Over 500 WARC-92 delegates and other personalities took this opportunity to preview what wideband digital HDTV will hold in store in the early years of the next millennium.

This EBU TUTORIAL is addressed not so much to student engineers as to training managers and broadcast administrators. The emphasis is on the role of training in the rapidly-changing broadcast environment: increasingly competitive attitudes, evolving career expectations, the introduction of easier-to-use and more flexible programme-making hardware.

The conclusions favour consideration of training as a management tool, an incentive and an investment, contributing just like any other investment towards the achievement of the broadcaster's primary objectives.