Ghana’s migration from analogue to digital broadcasting now set for March 2016
Ghana has set March, 2016, as the new date for the migration from analogue to digital broadcasting.
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This follows the inability of the country to meet the June 17, 2015, global target for migration from analogue to digital broadcasting.
Meanwhile, a local company, K-Net Limited, has been given an $82 million contract to deploy digital infrastructure platform throughout the country.
Briefing journalists on the developments yesterday, a Deputy Minister of Communications, Mr Ato Sarpong, explained that the country would have one free-to-air platform for all broadcasting houses, instead of allowing them to have separate platforms.
He said phase one of the project, which would involve the installation of digital infrastructure in the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions, would be completed in October, 2015.
Phase two, which covers the Northern, Upper East, Upper West and the Volta regions, would be finished by the end of December, 2015, while the third phase, which covers the Western, Eastern and Central regions would be completed by the end of March, 2016.
“The road map will be executed in nine months. By the end of March, 2016, the infrastructure will be deployed,” he said.
Mr Sarpong said after the completion of the installation of the digital infrastructure, the government would allow a one-year transition period for people to acquire the needed facilities for the migration of their television sets from analogue to digital.
Thereafter, he said, there would be a complete switch-off from analogue to digital broadcasting in the country.
He said an independent body, under the supervision of the National Media Commission (NMC), would be set up to manage the digital platform.
There are 21 free-to-air broadcasting stations in Ghana currently.
Support for the vulnerable
Mr Sarpong said the Cabinet had approved a package to support the vulnerable in society to acquire set boxes for the transition and hinted that the government intended to set up facilities for the manufacture or assembling of set boxes.
That, he said, was to beat down the cost of the set boxes and also create jobs for the youth.
Technical capacity of K-Net
Mr Sarpong said K-Net Limited won the bid after beating 14 others.
He said the company, which was formed in 1999, had the technical capacity in the distribution of broadcasting signals for broadcasting houses and networking in the country.
So far, he said, K-Net had visited all the 42 transmission sites and mapped out plans for each of them.
Funding
The deputy minister said the government had reduced the budget for the project from $117 million to $82 million.
He said the project would be solely funded by the government through the sale of 85 per cent of the frequency that would be obtained from the migration.
Other speakers
The Deputy Executive Secretary of the NMC, Mr Alex Bannerman, said the commission welcomed the road map for the migration, and affirmed the NMC’s resolve to demand high professional standards from media practitioners.
The Director of Technical Services of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Mr Oscar Nchor, stressed the need for effective strategies to be evolved to manage the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting.
Dr Chief P.A. Crystal Djirackor, Chairman of the Digital Broadcasting Migration Committee Publicity Subcommittee, urged all stakeholders to embrace the road map, since that would ensure the success of the project.
Background
Ghana set December, 2014 as the target date for the migration from analogue to digital broadcasting.
But the country had issue with the contractor for the project, leading to the abrogation of the $117 million contract in November, 2014. It was to be funded by donor partners.
The vendor took the government to court but the court threw out the case.