PΫUR, the leading telecommunications provider of fiber-optic cable networks in Saxony-Anhalt, is making the UNESCO World Heritage city of Quedlinburg a pioneer in its next-generation network. An early switch to exclusively digital TV and radio signals will free up new frequencies to further expand HD TV offerings and to test new offerings in the highest UHD / 4K image resolution. In addition, the network is to be switched in perspective to the latest data transmission standard in the cable, DOCSIS 3.1.
The historic old town of the World Heritage town of Quedlinburg, the Schlossberg ensemble with its castle and collegiate church, are the striking backdrop for an ambitious pilot project by PΫUR. With the support of Quedlinburger Wohnungswirtschaftsgesellschaft mbH, more than 3,200 customers are switched over to fully digital operation. As of March 20, 2018 , the analogue distribution of TV and radio programs in the housing stock formerly supplied by primacom ends. With its next-generation network in the World Heritage city of Quedlinburg, PΫUR sets a new standard in radio, TV and Internet coverage.
As a technical advance, a new headend was built for Quedlinburg. The headend is the central entry point for all program signals and also connects to the internet backbone. Equipped with the latest hardware, the network in Quedlinburg is in a position to use the future data transmission standard in cable networks DOCSIS 3.1. In the Welterbestadt in the later test course Internet speeds above 400 Mbit / s in the Download as well as higher Uploadbandbreiten - thus the speed, with which the users can upload data in the InterNet are realized.
The viewers in Quedlinburg will not lose any programs due to their full digitization. The entire range of analogue TV programs available today is completely digitally available. There are also six free-to-air programs in HD and two offers in even better UHD image quality. When receiving radio, 17 programs are newly digitally fed.
The project Digital City Quedlinburg is involved in a complex information campaign that is now starting. The aim is to prepare the affected households in the best possible way for the switch to fully digital signal transmission. These include treadmill displays in analogue TV programs, personal cover letters, house signs, an information website, a free service number, cooperation with local service partners and local press releases.
PΫUR will also gain experience in Quedlinburg, which can be used in the nationwide switch to purely digital signal distribution. 2018 is the year of setting analog TV signals in the cable. In the states of Bavaria and Saxony, the setting of analogue signals for radio and TV in the cable is even legally anchored. Around 11% of cable TV households still only watch analogue TV. With the radio, this connection rate is once again significantly lower at about 3% [1].
"We have found here in Quedlinburg an optimal test environment in which we can test the development of our networks," explains Jean-Pascal Roux, Chief Sales Officer Housing Industry and digital infrastructure of PUR on the occasion of the public announcement of the project. "We are extremely grateful to the city of Quedlinburg and our partner, the housing management company Quedlinburg mbH, for their committed support of our project."
"With the Digital City Quedlinburg project, we are bringing UNESCO's past and future together as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The digital upgrading of PΫUR distribution networks can prove to be a location factor, "says Quedlinburg Mayor Frank Ruch.
For Sven Breuel, Managing Director of Wohnungswirtschaftsgesellschaft mbH Quedlinburg, this leap in development is important: "The switch to pure digital coverage in our network promises more diversity and gives our tenants the use of additional capacity in a rapidly changing media world."