Abstract
Broadcast terrestrial network operators face increasing competition from new media and over-the-top platforms as new mediums to distribute content and alternatives to their platforms, forcing them to reduce signal distribution costs without impacting quality and reliability. Operators must improve operational efficiencies and transmission costs to retain customers and remain sustainable. This descriptive qualitative study reviews the causes of network failures, the effectiveness of existing maintenance strategies and the use of equipment condition status data in maintenance planning.
This research is conducted by interviewing technical managers responsible for maintenance planning and implementation to improve operational efficiencies and reduce maintenance costs. The study finds the network's reliability is affected by the cancellation of preventative maintenance trips to reduce operational costs, obsolete transmission equipment due to a delay in broadcast digital migration, and maintenance teams' poor competency. The lack of equipment condition status data utilisation to inform maintenance planning results in under- and over-maintenance of network assets, increasing operational costs. These findings show that for the operator to remain competitive, it must ensure compliance with maintenance schedules, continuously train technical teams, modernise transmission equipment to improve data collection and energy efficiency and invest in data analysis tools to inform maintenance planning.