Accra migrates to digital TV March

All is set for Ghana’s migration from analogue to digital broadcasting in March 2016 after several missed deadlines, according to the National Communications Authority (NCA).

Digital broadcasting provides better quality and multiplicity of channels, offering superior TV viewing experience.

Accra and neighbouring cities will be the first to experience the revolution in March, with the rest of the country benefitting by the end of the year.

Director General of the NCA William Tevie, speaking to Class News’ Atiewin Mbillah, said challenges with the company awarded the contract had contributed to the delay.

“The digital migration was supposed to have happened in June last year, but we had an issue with one of the companies we selected to help with the migration... they couldn’t get the funding to do the work, so we had to do the process all over again,” he said.

“We chose a local Ghanaian company called K-NET and they have been given March 2016 to do the first (migration), so we are looking up to March 2016 for the first station to go online,” he added.

Explaining the process, he said K-NET had to develop what they called the ‘head end equipment’ and put in some of the transmitters, noting that some of the equipment had already been put in place.

Mr Tevie gave the assurance that some percentage of the country, especially within Accra and its surrounding cities, should be ready for migration after March while the whole country would be ready by the end of 2016.