Quantitative Assessment of VHF and UHF Bands in Brazil After the Analog TV Switch-off

Abstract

In this paper, we study the usage of 174-216 MHz VHF band and 470-698 MHz UHF band after the analog TV switch-off in Brazil, expected to be finished in December 2023. After a database analysis, we estimated that more than 16 thousand Digital TV channels will be operative. Coverage simulations of these channels were predicted using Recommendation ITU-R P.1812, whose results show that on average 177 MHz in the studied bands will be idle in the Brazilian municipalities. Spectrum usage results indicate the viability of introducing other services rather than broadcasting in the VHF/UHF bands, such as TV White Spaces Devices, but also indicate difficulties for the deployment of Next-Generation Digital TV Systems.