CHAPTER 4: TECHNOLOGY AND COSTS
Chapter 4 describes the technology required to implement the various scenarios under analysis in this study, and assesses the costs of the alternative scenarios. The chapter is structured as follows :
the technology requirements of a cable television network operated by the telephone company (i.e. scenario 1) are described in section 4.1
the technology requirements of a cable television network operated independently of the telephone company (i.e. scenario 2) are described in section 4.2
the technology required to provide varying degrees of competitive telecommunications services (i.e. scenarios 3, 4 and 5) are described in sections 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5 respectively.
The analysis of benefits and costs of alternative network provision scenarios presented in Chapter 5 requires as input a knowledge of the differential costs of network construction and operation under the alternative network configurations. The model used to derive these cost figures is outlined in Exhibit 4.1. For clarity of presentation the main quantitative findings of this cost analysis are presented in Chapter 5 (specifically in Exhibits 5.1 to 5.4 and 5.12) although the technical analysis leading to these cost estimates are presented in this chapter. Further detail on the costs associated with each scenario are given in Appendix A.
Readers not concerned with the detailed technical justification of the cost analysis may proceed directly to chapter 5.
4.1 A CABLE TELEVISION NETWORK PROVIDED BY HKT (SCENARIO 1)
4.1.1 General Description
In scenario 1, HKT proposes to use its existing telecommunications infrastructure for various aspects of cable television network provision. The architecture of such a system is as follows :
The distribution of programmes within a cable television network begins at the headend. The headend includes satellite antennas which would be used to bring in television services from the orbiting satellites. In addition, the headend would also include facilities to receive the off-air, local channels, and also to input locally produced or imported video-recorded material. Finally, the headend would require additional equipment to process the received television signals for distribution to the cable television network.
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