Ghana takes next steps in digital migration

GOVERNMENT

Ghana will soon publish digital receiver standards guidelines and name service providers as part of its digital TV migration process.

Communications Minister Haruna Iddrisu said at a media briefing that the digital receiver standards for Ghana would be published within weeks, to guide equipment vendors and importers.

He said Cabinet had already approved the road map and standards for the migration from analogue to digital broadcasting. A National Digital Broadcasting Migration Implementation Committee had also been constituted to ensure the smooth migration process from analogue television and radio to digital terrestrial broadcasting in line with international standards.

Seven companies’ bids to provide the Digital Terrestrial Television Network nationwide were also being evaluated.

He noted that the Ghana’s Government had decided to adopt the second generation Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) standard, ETSI-EN 302 755, popularly called, DVB-T2 for digital terrestrial television. Iddrisu said: “The DVB-T2 has the advantage of offering the needed flexibility of transmitting high definition (HD), standard definition (SD) and mobile television channels on the same transmission network.”

To enable the general public appreciate the benefits inherent in the migration exercise, the Ministry of Communications, in collaboration with the NCA, would embark on a vigorous nationwide publicity and communication campaign to educate the general public on the switchover to digital broadcasting. The public education would cover the entire lifespan of the digital broadcasting migration programme until analogue switch-off by end of December 2014.