TV in Ghana to go digital

Television viewers in Ghana will enjoy more channels, clearer pictures, better sound quality and on-screen programme guide from March next year when local TV stations switch from analogue to digital broadcasting.

The move follows a call by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East to move from analogue to digital broadcasting by 2015.

The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), in collaboration with TV3, TV Africa, NET 2 and Next Generation Broadcasting (NGB), as part of the move on Monday launched the pilot digital terrestrial television (DTT) to start digital transmission on a pilot basis from this month to January next year.

Present at the launch were the Director-General of GBC, Mr William Ampem Darko; the Director of Regulations and Licensing of the National Communica-tions Authority, Mr Joshua Peprah; the Director of Technical Production, Mr Oscar Nchor; the CEO of Net 2, Mrs Stella Agyapong; Mr Kofi Nyantakyi of TV3 and the CEO of TV Africa, Mr Kwaw Ansah.

Speaking on, “Digital Terrestrial Migration”, Mr Nchor said television stations in Ghana were moving from analogue to digital transmission ahead of the 2015 deadline in order to provide more programmes, improve the quality of television broadcasting and expand room for new markets.

He said that required that television viewers replaced their analogue receivers with integrated digital television sets or connect set-top-boxes to analogue television sets.

He also said television stations would initially operate the digital together with the analogue to allow viewers to switch over gradually to digital but added that the grace period would not last long due to the high cost involved.

Mr Nchor said digital broadcasting would enhance competition among the TV stations and make broadcasters keen on introducing new services and more integrated channels.

All the TV stations, he said, would be transmitting on a single transmitter to serve several channels. He added that it would reduce power usage when compared to analogue.

Mr Nchor said the current broadcasting policy did not specifically address digital broadcasting but said the policy would be reviewed to accommodate that.

He added that the existing law would need to be amended because there was the need to consider licensing, switching from analogue to digital, replacing analogue receivers and transmitters or upgrading the analogue infrastructure to digital.

Mr Nchor, therefore, appealed to the government to fund the public service broadcaster by setting up infrastructure for the national digital terrestrial television to enable the switch over to happen by the given deadline.

Seven countries, under the ITU decision, have completed the switch over. They are Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Finland, Andorra, Sweden and Switzerland.

However, African countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa, Nigeria and The Sudan are still on track pursuing the digital switch over.

Mr Ampem Darko said the official cost of establishing the national digital terrestrial television was 42 million euros.

Daily Graphic, Nov. 10th, 2008