The deadlinE for the switch from analogue to digital TV broadcasting expired at the stroke of midnight, yesterday, one year after Rwanda successfully made the move. 

The June 17 deadline was set by member states of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) at the Regional Radiocommunication (GEO6) Conference in 2006.

The ITU covers 119 countries in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

Rwanda made the switch from analogue to digital TV broadcasting in June last year, becoming only the second country in sub-Saharan Africa to do so.

Several countries that are party to the GE06 agreement, as well as many who are not, have already made the transition.

"Today [yesterday], June 17, marks a historic landmark in the transition from analogue to digital television broadcasting,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao in a statement. "The process, which began in June 2006, has re-envisioned the way the world watches and interacts with TV and opened the way for new innovations and developments in the broadcast industry.”

Digital TV broadcasting offers many advantages over analogue systems for end-users, operators and regulators.

Apart from increasing the number of programmes, digital systems can provide new innovative services such as interactive TV, electronic programme guides and mobile TV as well as transmit image and sound in high-definition (HDTV) and ultra-high definition (UHDTV).

"The fact that Rwanda respected the ITU deadline one year in advance is in itself an achievement,” explained Innocent Nkurunziza, the technical director at the Rwanda Broadcasting Authority.

He added that there are many benefits from digital migration that accrue to both end users and broadcasters: "With digital migration, we have managed to connect all local TV channels countrywide, whereas with analogue it was only RTV with upcountry penetration.”

Nkurunziza added that with the new technology, the one transmitter at RBA supports over eight TV channels, while in the days of analogue, this transmitter could only support the national broadcaster, RTV.

"With analogue broadcasting, you would need to build a transmission tower for each of the eight TV stations. That would mean more money spent on equipment, land, and overhead costs like electricity.”

As for the end users, Nkurunziza said the biggest benefit is that of more channels from which to choose.

"More channels mean more choices, more information. The other thing with digital broadcasting is that it suffers no degradation of signal as is the case with analogue.”

Nkurunziza said all that end users need is a digital decoder that is compatible with version two of the digital transmitter.

"If you have an analogue TV set, all you need to do is buy a decoder. Those without TV sets can go and buy digital sets and an external antenna,” he said.

Jean Baptiste Mutabazi, the head of telecom regulation at the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority, said with digital broadcasting, the TV sector has been demystified:

"For new entrants in the TV market, the biggest benefit is the reduced capital expenditure. All that you need now is a studio, then you can rent the RBA transmitter. This explains the current boom in the private TV sector, which has seen over 18 TV stations expressing interest in acquiring broadcasting licences.

Currently, TV1, Tele10, and Lemigo are some of the local television stations that use the RBA transmitter.

Mutabazi argues that the focus should now shift to local content development –"how to generate content that can sustain 24 hour broadcasts for seven days of the week.

"We should be in position to have specialised channels broadcasting exclusive content, for instance an agricultural channel for farmers, and an educational channel,” Mutabazi said.

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