Malawi News Agency reports that the country’s government has contracted Chinese technology firm Huawei Technologies to commission and install Malawi’s Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) equipment ahead of the planned switch from analogue to digital television broadcasting by year-end.
The expectation is that the country will have its first ever DTT signal by November this year, however progress on the project has been affected due to the lack of resources, writes the Malawi News Agency. This is because the project is currently being solely financed by the State.
Dennis William Chirwa, Digital Migration Co-ordinator in the Ministry of Information, is quoted in the report as saying that the deal has not yet been “cemented” with Huawei, a step that will also determine the date when the country will receive the DTT signal.
“Initial negotiations were done on May 11 and we expect to undertake further discussions soon and award the contract to Huawei Technologies,” Chirwa is reported to have said.
At the same time Malawians will have to invest in Set Top Boxes (STPs) in order to adapt the signal into analogue to suit television sets that are not compatible with digital systems.
The country has developed a communication strategy focused on the migration which, claims Malawi News Agency, will be launched in July this year.
* Image via Shutterstock
Staff Writer
