"We should ensure after the analog switch-off, the digital television broadcast would be accessible to all television viewers regardless of their location," he stressed during a webinar on the planned analog switch-off on Thursday.
He made the remarks in response to a statement issued by West Java regional TVRI Station head Asep Suhendar explaining the probability of several regions in West Java becoming black spots due to lack of digital television signal received there.
Suhendar had pointed out that two mountainous regions within Cianjur and Garut districts had a high probability of becoming black spots with no digital signal received in the region.
He said he had reported the issue to the central government and a follow-up survey had been conducted with assistance from the Communications and Informatics Ministry. A proposal to construct signal receiver infrastructure for the region had also been submitted, he added.
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The authority should also prepare a backup plan to address potential failure to receive digital signals in rural areas, as Suhendar has pointed out, Hidayat said.
"With the existing mapping, we need to create a backup plan to address transition issues. The Communication and Informatics Ministry should create the plan with assistance from the Telecommunications and Informatics Accessibility Agency and the regional government," he advised.
The main goal of broadcasting digitization is to provide better signal quality as viewers will have more choice of television channels, he noted. It is therefore essential to ensure no viewers are left behind by the digital transition, he added.
The dean said he was optimistic that the transition to digital transmission would be successful and reminded television viewers to purchase the necessary devices so their televisions could receive digital signals.
The government has planned to switch off analog signals from April 2022, when the first transition phase will commence. The final phase is expected to conclude by the end of 2022.
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Translator: Natisha A, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Suharto
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