Wang Xiaojie, director general for the Science and Technology Department of the State Administration of Radio Film and Television, said at the Fourth China Digital Media Summit that the country will invest CNY2.5 billion to extend the coverage of terrestrial digital TV, marking the beginning of the application of the Standard of Digital Television Terrestrial Broadcasting in China.

The Standard of Digital Television Terrestrial Broadcasting was published in 2007. In January 2008, CCTV announced plans to broadcast high-definition terrestrial digital TV programs, which represented for the start of the commercial use of terrestrial digital TV.

Wang said that SARFT broadcasted terrestrial digital TV programs in eight major Chinese cities before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The terrestrial digital TV includes two channels. One is a high-definition channel, broadcasting high-definition programs on CCTV; and the other is standard-definition channel, broadcasting programs of local provincial and municipal TV stations.

Until 2009, SARFT will gradually extend the terrestrial digital TV broadcasting and the country will invest CNY2.5 billion to establish a nationwide terrestrial digital TV system in three to five years, added Wang.

She further explained that the coverage promotion will be divided into two phases. In the first phase, the high-definition CCTV programs and standard-definition programs will be available in 37 large and medium-sized cities. In the second phase, the standard-definition programs will be available in 333 cities and 2,861 counties. The project will be started at the end of 2008 and be promoted at the beginning of 2009.