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RI set on early November deadline for analog television switch-off
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Children watching a television show in the community hall on May 22, 2014. (Courtesy of Asian Development Bank)
T
he Communications and Information Ministry has said it would stick to its deadline for the analog switch-off (ASO) program, ensuring that the national transition from analog to digital television would be conducted by Nov. 2 this year.
As regulated in the Job Creation Law, the ASO program has to be carried out before the end of this year. The ministry previously planned to implement the program in three phases.
However, the approach was later shifted to what the ministry has called “multiple ASO”, in which the switching off of analog television would be enacted based on the preparedness of each region.
“According to the evaluation of some regions’ ASO execution, [the ministry] is readjusting the ASO implementation system for the sake of effectiveness and to minimize the potential trouble for public broadcasts,” said the ministry in a press statement released on Thursday.
The ministry revealed that the level of preparedness of a region was decided based on three components, namely the existence of analog television within the region that would be signed off, the readiness of the region in migrating to digital television and whether the government-assisted set-top boxes (STBs) for poor households in the region were already distributed.
Greater Jakarta is currently the central focus for ASO preparation, with the exact dates for other regions to be officially announced by the ministry over time.
“To ensure the success of this national digital television migration, we are asking stakeholders as well as all people to keep pushing for the fulfillment of the ASO agenda to be on time,” said the release.
To make sure of this, the ministry is asking broadcasters with digital licenses to keep up their commitment to distributing the STBs and has also asked STB producers and merchants to ease the purchase access for people in need.
The ministry is also urging broadcasters to intensify their dissemination of the benefits of migrating to digital television, along with information on how to do it.
“To all who get the chance to migrate to digital television, we encourage you to do it immediately,” said the release, emphasizing that the participation of the public was needed to finish the program in time.
