CORAL SPRING, Trelawny — Minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister Robert Morgan says ATSC 3.0 digital television technology will help educators bridge gaps that now exist in reaching students across Jamaica, providing a level playing field for all.

“If we have digital switchover at a particular standard, [this] can democratise the whole ecosystem. So the kid in Campion [College] no longer has an advantage over the kid in Clarendon College,” stated Morgan.

“And, when you think about it deeper and you extrapolate and analyse what this means for Jamaica; it is shocking that we have taken a decade to do it,” added Morgan.

He was addressing the Advanced Television Committee’s (ATSC) boot camp and seminar VIP dinner at the Ocean Coral Spring resort in Trelawny on Tuesday.

Morgan noted that Internet access was a challenge and while it was possible to transmit educational content for students by adding new channels on cable, this was not possible for free-to-air television using the current analogue system. However, ATSC 3.0 technology made it possible. He said Government ministers bought into the idea of a switchover to digital after seeing challenges faced by the education system at the height of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

“The idea that we could have education channels, free-to-air, for every single grade or subject in schools, you could democratise the sharing of information so much that you are now able to lead more people out of poverty through education,” stated Morgan.

South Korea was the first country to adopt and start transmitting free-to-air television broadcasts utilising the ATSC 3.0 digital technology standard in 2017, followed by the United States. Jamaica is the first country in the world to leap from analogue directly to ATSC 3.0 digital technology. In 2009, the US made the switch from analogue to ATSC 1.0 in 2009 and is now rapidly deploying ATSC 3.0 across several states.

Morgan said the new technology will provide Jamaicans with more life-improving information.

“It will not only expand the offerings by our various television companies but — primarily of interest to me — it will improve how Jamaicans receive information, not just in terms of [broadcast] quality but also in terms of the type of information that they receive,” stated Morgan who has portfolio responsibility for information.

He said Jamaica’s move to adopt this revolutionary technology is one of the most important developments since the country’s Independence.

“The fact that it has begun to manifest itself, starting in January, the 60th anniversary of our Independence, I think it is symbolic of how important it is to us as a people,” he said.

After years of talking about a digital switchover, Jamaica adopted ATSC 3.0 technology — instead of the first generation, ATSC 1.0 — in 2021. Television Jamaica started broadcasting in the new format six months ago.

Also referred to as NextGen TV, ATSC 3.0 is a consensus-driven collaborative effort in the implementation of a television standard that can deliver 4K HDR video, enhanced dialogue, on-demand viewing options, advanced emergency messaging and better reception.