Analogue switch-off to delay due to low uptake of digital TV converters

Switch-off of analogue transmission by the end of this year may not take place as earlier scheduled due to low uptake of Set Top Boxes (STBs) meant to enable viewers access digital TV images, according to Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (Rura). Rwanda postponed the initial December 31, 2012 deadline to migrate to digital TV broadcasting, set by the East African Community (EAC) partner states due to shortage of digital broadcasting converters. “We may not see a complete digital switch-over by the end of this year,” Jean Baptiste Mutabazi, the head of communication and media regulation at Rura, told The New Times recently. He faulted the dealers for not aggressively selling the converters, an accusation the latter rejected.Mutabazi said Rura will only monitor the implementation process and leave the importation and distribution of the digital image converters to the private sector and the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA). Digital broadcasting offers more channels with high quality signal reception. “Something must be done to ensure that STBs are available before the end of the year, otherwise chances of switching off analogue transmission are slim,” he noted.Mutabazi, however, noted that more people will have STBs before the end of the year.The authorised vendors of digital broadcasting converters are Tele10 Group Ltd, Trans-African Container Transport Ltd, and Sorim Ltd.Cedric Pierre-Louis, the managing director of Tele10/TV, said the institution is contributing a lot towards digital migration transmission in the country, through providing digital content and STBs.“We imported 10,500 decoders and have sold 4,000. The problem is that people are not aware of the migration process and are reluctant to purchase STBs,” he said.A decoder from Tele10/TV costs Rwf28, 500. Presently, only StarTimes, a Chinese-owned pay TV and DSTV subscribers access digital transmission. RBA digital broadcasting hosts several channels, including TV5, MTV, France 24 (English and French), TV10 and Rwanda Television.Innocent Nkurunziza, the technical director of RBA, urged Rwandans to buy the available decoders to motivate the vendors to import more.“We are running both analogue and digital broadcasting until Rura authorises us to switch off analogue and this will be done once all Rwandans with TVs can access digital images,” he noted.The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) set 2015 as the global deadline for switching from analogue to digital broadcasting.Most of the EAC partner states are yet to switch to digital broadcasting.

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Analogue switch-off to delay due to low uptake of digital TV converters