US, Compulsion Of Digital Tuner on Television By 2006

US government will force television to be digitalized, so the world television market looks to be accelerated toward digitalization. At 7th of August, LG Electronics that is the mother company of Genes Electronics announced that the company possesses fundamental technology of digital tuner and expects to receive loyalty of 5 dollars per tuner, 100 million dollars per year. Samsung Electronic, LG Electronics, etc have international competitiveness on digital television technology and expect to increase in exporting.

On 6th of August, Wall Street Journal reported that FCC (Federal Communications Committee) was expected to announce a policy on digital television on August 8 as following; Electronic appliance manufacturers should adopt VSB (vestigial sideband broadcasting) on which Genes Electronics has fundamental technology as standard. The companies should install the chip on large- sized television by year 2004 and on all television by year 2006.

US government has a time schedule to stop analogue television broadcasting from year 2006 and now it decided to move up digital television broadcasting. Basically, FCC has sustained the principle of free market, but it decided to move up digitalization of television broadcasting because the transformation into digitalization is delayed. US government is in a hurry to transform analogue broadcasting into digital broadcasting. In case of analogue, wave efficiency is only one of sixth of digital. Therefore, as analogue transforms into digital, the government will sell unused waves at auction or reserve for wireless communications & wireless PC.

Therefore, LG Electronics that took over Genes Electronics at 350 million dollars (100%) in 1995 estimates to earn 100 million dollars (5 dollars per tuner). Kim Jung Jung, Senior Manager for Patent management Group estimated “the decision of FCC will accelerate the extension of US digital television market, and the opportunity to export Korean digital television will be increase.”

Digital television can provide clear resolution and sound to viewers, but one unit of digital tuner costs 250 dollars, so the manufacturers have been reluctant to provide digital television with anxiety of sales contraction. Television broadcasting stations have avoided producing digital programs because the difficult to meet break-even point until the generalization of digital television. Against decision of US government for the broadcasting stations, the manufacturers are opposite with the reason of price increase by 250 dollars per television. The Association of Electronic Home Appliance advertised on Washington Post with the phrase “the decision of FCC is same as imposing tax”. French Thomson Multimedia is preparing an appeal of extension of the deadline. ON the other side, broadcasting stations support the decision with the reason that mass production will decrease the price to 15 dollar.