The new interconnecting television: an alternative approach to next generation broadband networking

In Sevilla European council it was indicated that two major problems (among the others) have to be solved towards eEurope 2005 and beyond: the transition to digital television in UHF band (digital switchover) and the broadband access for all. This paper considers that if proper decision will be taken for the digital switchover (taking into account the networking aspect of the new television) it will also provide a solution for the second problem (the broadband access for all citizens). It presents an approach towards the solution of the digital switchover that comprises the use of the DVB stream for interconnecting next generation network (NGN) nodes, by the use of regenerative configurations. The utilisation of regenerative configurations enables for the realisation of a virtual common Ethernet backbone that can be exploited by 3G/UMTS and B3G operators and broadcasters, besides enabling for broadband access for all citizens.