Rwanda will fully start digital broadcasting by March next year, five years earlier than the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) deadline for all countries to adopt the terrestrial digital broadcasting.

This means that Office Rwandais d’Information - Orinfor, a state owned information agency will have the capacity to host eight different channels.

The agency’s officials say that preparations are in high gear with the construction of Television and FM radio towers countrywide.

Innocent Nkurunziza, Head of Technical Department at Orinfor said they signed a contract with HARRIS, an American company to manufacture, supply, deliver, install and train staff about digital transmitters.

He said that according to the contract between the two parties, transmitters will be manufactured next week and after 90 days the equipment will be ready for shipment.

With Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestrial (DVBT) digital broadcasting, top quality images and sound is telecast whereas analogue signals are subject to fade and interference.

The trial for digital broadcast in Rwanda started in 2005 with different channels including CNN, TV5 and Rwanda Television.

For some one to receive a digital signal, a set top box will be needed to convert digital signal to analogue to be watched on TV or posses a digital TV. According to Nkurunziza, a set top box costs about $100.

"When we go digital broadcasting apart from quality images and sound, editing will be much easier, faster and safer compared to analogue,” Nkurunziza said.

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