Argentina’s Evolving Cable Industry

Editor’s Note—In this issue we present an article contributed by the Technical Committee of the Argentine Cable Television Association (ATVC). Founded in 1980, the ATVC represents the cable television industry in Argentina. The ATVC has organized the international cable convention Jornadas ATVC each year since 1989. The convention has become the industry’s major event in the Southern Cone, attracting cable operators, cable industry professionals, educators, public officials, and suppliers of programming, cable equipment and services, and telecommunications from Argentina and Latin America.

Jornados ATVC

The ATVC (Argentine Cable Television Association), just completed its 12th annual international convention, “Jornadas ATVC 2001–Networks for the Community,” which included the ATVC Awards for the best in commercial equipment, programming, and services for cable and telecommunications in Argentina and Latin America. The conference included a wide range of topics such as marketing, new business, cable television and education, and technical workshops. The presentations included one from CableLabs engineer, Jesus López, who spoke to a group of engineers and technicians from Argentina and Latin America about the role CableLabs plays in the North and South American cable industry.

Cable Industry in Argentina—An Overview

The cable television industry in Argentina is the leader in Latin America, and ranks fifth worldwide, with over 65% of its population subscribed to cable television networks. It is one of the most requested household services. The topology used in most of these systems consists of FSA and hybrid fiber/coaxial (HFC) in 860 MHz and 750 MHz bandwidths. In some cities and towns 550 MHz and 450 MHz bandwidths are used in varying distributions; implementation of these topologies is comprised of both underground and aerial distributions. In large cities such networks have been implemented with overflow redundant nodal systems, which rely on a bi-directional HFC-type distribution, with management systems and huge percentages of standby sources in some areas. Some cities also include time division multiplexed (TDM) telephony through cable (cablephony).

In small cities with limited coverage areas, uni/bi-directional services are supplied in one node-head coaxial network that distributes up to four sub-nodes. For very small, low-density towns, distribution is provided by multi-point RF links from larger cities.

The major goal of complementary services today is the coding of premium channels. For Internet provisioning, cable modems (telco return) are used in addition to two-way cable modems.

Operators also can establish wireless Internet links in cases where either the distance or the network prevent access. Enhancements and new services are still to be implemented in many networks. Additionally, in a number of networks, upgrades are pending. New services that will most likely grow are the ones already established, i.e., pay-per-view, video-on-demand, near video-on-demand, other interactive services, IP telephony, digital video channels, alarms, data services, and more.

You may obtain more information about ATVC’s year-round activities by visiting our Web site www.atvc.org.ar or www.atvc.org.