GoDigital- DTT / DVB-T Digital Terrestrial Television in Israel

Digital Terrestrial Television DTT / DVB-T - in Israel

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IDAN Plus - the new digital terrestrial television service in Israel

IDAN Plus - the new DTT - digital terrestrial television service in Israel
IDAN : Hebrew acronym for Israel Accessible Digital Channels
ASO date 30.3.2011
Regular transmissions started August 2nd, 2009 on channel UHF 26 in central Israel and on channel UHF 29 in the North and in Eilat area. The initial system consisted of 13 main transmitters and more were added since then country-wide.

Country-wide analogue switch-off took place on March 31, 2011

In some remote areas satellite reception is required even after final ASO ( via AMOS satellite)

Currently there is one multiplex with 5 channels : IBA 1, IBA 33, Channel 2, Channel 10 and the Knesset Channel

The government has approved additional development of the system with 2 additional multiplexes. The second multiplex ( icluding IBA TV1 HD ) will include Israel Educational TV 23, Israel Music Channel 24, The new channel in Arabic, additional Tv channels ( t.b.a.) plus all national and regional radio stations and is expected to go live before the end of 2012. The third multiplex will probably start later in 2013. In total the govenmewnt has approved about 18 tv channels

According to (unofficial) sources, the 3rd multiplec will be in DVB-T2

The IDAN Plus service is aggregated and distributed under the responsibility of the 2nd Authority for Radio and Television in israel and the transmitters network is run by the engineering department of BEZEQ telecom

Current ( and 2nd phase) service broadcasting standards
Video : MPEG-4
Audio : AAC-HE V.2
EPG for 7 days
Closed captions including real time subtitling in most live Hebrew programming provided by IBA 1, Channel 2 and Channel 10

The initial cost of STB's when IDAN+ was lainched was 400NIS but since then dropped to around 200 NIS .(updated 3/2012)

March 2013 UPDATE

Israel's The Second Authority and Thomson Broadcast Sign Large-scale DTT National Network Extension Agreement

Conflans Sainte Honorine, FRANCE — 20 March, 2013 — Thomson Broadcast has won a major contract with The Second Authority for Television and Radio, the public authority that regulates commercial broadcasts in Israel. Selecting Thomson Broadcast as a strategic partner in the extension of its nationwide DVB-T/DVB-T2 network, The Second Authority's order for new infrastructure includes two new multiplexes on thirty sites including three single frequency areas. This major deal incorporates a three-year service agreement for the global transmission system.

Sixty-three high- and medium- power transmitters from Thomson's GreenPower range have been ordered together with installation and commissioning services, in a deal which follows on from the company's earlier deployment of DVB-T multiplexes over thirty transmission and sixty-two repeater sites.

“This important national infrastructure project is part of the second phase of Israel's transition to digital, and includes the roll out of eighteen additional television and radio services and HDTV quality," said Mr.Tal Nissim, CTO. "Thomson Broadcast was the preferred partner in the first phase, and the success of that relationship led us to extend our association with the company. Thomson Broadcast provides complete reliability, low cost of ownership, and continuous innovation with customized technical expertise including containerized transmitters and dedicated local support.”

Equipped with dualcast-ready digital exciters, the GreenPower range offers the ability to smoothly migrate from DVB-T to DVB-T2 and to easily offer additional HDTV content. Ranging from low- to high- power, the range covers all the power requirements of The Second Authority. As an extension project, Thomson will also deploy its user-friendly centralized Network Management System to control and monitor the overall transmission system from a single facility.

“This multi-million-euro contract underlines the successful long-term relationship between Thomson Broadcast and The Second Authority, and the renewed confidence in the company following its acquisition by Arelis Group, a specialist of RF and Microwave solutions for defense and aerospace markets,” said Pascal Veillat, Chairman, Arelis Group. The deal includes a new service level agreement providing The Second Authority with a high level of local services to keep its currently operating DTV transmission equipment running 24/7, 365 days a year.