NEXTGEN TV broadcasts are coming soon to a second Caribbean nation, joining Jamaica in transitioning its signals to the ATSC 3.0 standard. And, a demonstration station is now on the air for those in a nation entering 2025 under a state of emergency due to heightened crime and violence.
The Government of Trinidad and Tobago on December 30 declared a national state of emergency based on criminal activity that could endanger public safety, prompting a security alert from the U.S. Embassy in Port-of-Spain, opposite Queen’s Park Savannah — declared a no-go zone for any U.S. government personnel.
With an increased police and military presence dampening the start to 2025, the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) is celebrating one month of ATSC 3.0 service for those with television sets or add-on devices capable of receiving the service. TATT is collaborating with the nation’s four free-to-air television service providers (CCN TV6, Parliament TV, CNC3 and TTT) in launching the test NEXTGEN TV station.
The service launched on December 5, 2024, and will be in service through May 2025.
A three-day workshop held in December provided a comprehensive overview of ATSC 3.0 technology, its benefits and implications for the broadcasting industry and viewers in Trinidad and Tobago. Aaron Simon, Manager of Licensing at TATT, discussed the readiness of the free-to-air television broadcasting sector and the planned digital switch-on for late 2025.
A phased analogue switch-off will commence, and this will render any analog-only TVs useless by mid-2027.
Experts in ATSC 3.0 deployments including Mike Schmidt of Heartland Video Systems and Raj Patel of Yotta Media were also present, and offered presentations on datacasting and advanced emergency alert features that allows broadcasters to send information on emergencies to televisions and other receivers, including the possibility of a wake-up signal to power-on receivers in stand-by mode during serious emergencies.
Then, there is the targeted advertising opportunities that come with NEXTGEN TV.
Free-to-air television stations CCN TV6, TTT, Parliament TV and CNC3 are the HD stations available on the demonstration system on UHF Channel 24 to viewers with an antenna and a television that is ATSC 3.0 compatible.
Additionally, viewers can use their television to listen to sounds from Taj 92.3 and Hott93, two FM radio stations. This is a technology being pioneered in the U.S. by Sinclair Inc.
