12 Feb 2020

Failure to get receiving equipment by some households is hindering the completion of migration from analogue to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) in Botswana. 

 Information and Broadcasting deputy permanent secretary Mr Oshinka Tsiang told a SADC TV Channel and Post-DTT migration workshop in Maun recently, that although Botswana was among SADC countries lagging behind in the migration, it had completed transmitter rollout.

  Among other countries in the same boat with Botswana, were Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Angola, he said.

   Mr Tsiang said it was unfortunate that some SADC member states had not completely migrated.

 Commending Eswatini, Malawi and South Africa for successfully completing migration, he observed that failure to switch off from analogue at the same time by SADC member states may negatively impact on service delivery and result in possible cross border interference. 

  He however said challenges experienced in the migration exercise and failure to meet the DTT migration deadlines should not make the SADC member states lose focus.

 In her remarks, Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) deputy director Ms Basebi Mosinyi advised SADC member states to ensure the success of Terrestrial Television Broadcasting.

Through DTT, governments in the SADC region would be able to broadcast information to their citizens in a cheaper way, she said.

Ms Mosinyi said Africa commenced the analogue switch off to DTT in June 2015 while Europe switched off in 2012.

 Africa had since settled for June 2020 to complete the migration, she said. Ends