South Korean government has adopted the U.S. transmission system of digital television broadcasting, ending years of protracted disputes and enabling households across the country to enjoy digital TV programming this year.

The Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) said Thursday the government and the broadcasting industry have finally agreed to adopt the U.S. format instead of the alternative European one.

Under the agreement, terrestrial broadcasters of KBS and MBC will expand their high-definition services to five provincial cities this month.

"Provincial residents will be able to enjoy the upcoming Athens Olympics via digital TV. Furthermore, we plan to expand digital TV coverage across the nation by the end of next year," MIC official Rha Bong-ha said.

Rha added traditional analogue broadcasting will be suspended in 2010, when it is expected that 95 percent of households will own digital TV sets.

S.Korea picked the U.S. format as the national standard in 1997 and launched commercial digital broadcasting four years later in Seoul and the surrounding Kyonggi Province.

Encouraged by MBC's field test back in 2001, however, some broadcasters and the media union raised concerns over the U.S. standard's capability to offer quality services to viewers on the go and pressed the government to switch to the European format.

In the face of strong opposition, the MIC delayed the expansion of digital TV services to five provincial cities of Pusan, Taegu, Kwangju, Taejon and Ulsan, which was originally planned to go in effect from this January.

In an effort to supplement the U.S. standard which is weak in mobility-specific broadcasting, the locally developed ground digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) will also be embarked this year, according to Rha.

Experts and digital TV makers hail the decision, saying it has cleared away uncertainty caused by years of standard row, thus encouraging viewers to snap up big-ticket digital TVs and manufacturers to increase investment.

"Finalization of the standard is really good news for Korea. It will serve to revive sluggish domestic demand and increase business investment," Information and Communication University professor Lee Hyuck-jae said.

Source: Agencies