July 7, 2008
Her Excellency
María del Rosario Guerra
Minister of Communications
Bogotá
Dear Minister Guerra:
I understand that your government will soon decide which standard it will adopt for digital television (DTV) in Colombia. Clearly, your decision will be based on a variety of factors that will best serve the Colombian people.
I urge you to adopt the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) standard for two main reasons: first, it will be the most affordable for Colombians; and second, it has already been proven in the marketplace. By 2009, we expect more than 150 million ATSC devices to have been sold in North America alone, creating economies of scale that will further drive down the prices of ATSC consumer products. With such affordable receivers, including inexpensive set-top converters that can be used with existing analog TVs, millions of Colombians from all segments of society will be able to enjoy the benefits of digital broadcasting services, including innovative education, health care, and government services applications that help promote social inclusion.
The ATSC standard offers Colombian broadcasters numerous technical advantages, such as appreciably better reception coverage and a significantly higher information payload for the same coverage area, facilitating multicasting. The ATSC also uses considerably less energy than other standards, as the ATSC transmitters operate on one-fourth the peak power to achieve the same coverage. The costs associated with the competing standards are much higher than ATSC, and the difference in price could dictate how many Colombians will be able to afford access to digital television, or how much the government would have to fund in order to make that access possible. Furthermore, the transition to the ATSC standard in Colombia would be seamless as many of the new televisions recently sold in Colombia are ATSC-compatible.
The ATSC standard offers the best combination of economic, social, and technical advantages, and has already been broadly implemented in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and South Korea with great success. Thank you for your consideration of the ATSC standard as you make this important decision.
[Manuscrito en marcador de punta gruesa: Un cordial saludo! (sic)]
Sincerely,
Carlos M. Gutierrez
Cc: Carolina Hoyos
President
Colombian National TV Commission
[Versión facsimilar publicada originalmente en El Espectador, jueves 28 de agosto de 2008, página 9]
