"After the infrastructure was built, the government encouraged television analog broadcast (stations) to move to digital television broadcasts," Kurnia said during a technical training on the use of set-top boxes as part of the analog switch-off (ASO) program implementation in Maluku.
According to him, 596 out of 693 licensed TV analog broadcasters have migrated to digital broadcasting as of October 13, 2022.
The ministry expects all broadcasters to migrate to digital terrestrial broadcasting because most of their programs are already being broadcast digitally.
People will shift to digital TV broadcasts if they can feel the difference between analog and digital, Kurnia said.
The analog switch-off program is targeting 112 service areas in 341 districts and cities of Indonesia.
Meanwhile, some public and private broadcasters have built multiplexing infrastructure in 95 service areas.
Currently, public broadcaster TVRI is building multiplexing infrastructure in 17 service areas because only TVRI's broadcasts are available there, Kurnia informed.
Related news: ASO to be implemented in Greater Jakarta on October 5
Another issue in the ASO implementation has been set-top boxes, a digital broadcast receiver device for analog television.
Based on the 2022 "Public Readiness for ASO" survey conducted by the ministry in 10 service areas, 90.08 percent of the respondents are willing to buy set-top boxes.
Meanwhile, 76.25 percent of the respondents are willing to purchase a set-top box at a price level of around Rp150 thousand.
Analog television broadcasts in Indonesia will be switched off no later than November 2. The dissemination of information on ASO will continue throughout the transition period until then.
Furthermore, a telecommunications expert from the Bandung Institute of Technology, Ian Joseph, said that the ASO can support the equitable distribution of telecommunications networks in the country.
Related news: Ministry to target other major cities after Greater Jakarta ASO
Translator: Natisha A, Kenzu T
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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