Already a vital part of the region's communications and information infrastructure, during the next decade the national television broadcasting systems throughout the Americas are expected to be upgraded from analog to digital technology, keeping pace with the technological advances that are reshaping all types of global telecommunications. The transition to digital terrestrial television (DTT) broadcasting is a revolutionary change that will dramatically affect the future of free over-the-air television in the Americas. With digital technology, DTT allows each broadcaster to provide a huge wireless information pipeline into every home, delivering 20 million bits per second through each 6 MHz broadcast television channel. This capability not only enables the delivery of dramatically sharper images and CD-quality surround sound, it supports a much greater quantity and diversity of TV programs, plus a whole new array of information services, including interactive capabilities that will help to bring the benefits of the information age more fully and more uniformly to all citizens in the Americas.

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