Ecuador’s move from analog to digital tv delayed due to poor public information

Ecuador’s Ministry of Telecommunications says its decision to postpone the country’s transition from analog to digital television broadcast was prompted by public ignorance of the change-over.

Originally scheduled for December 30, the move to digital is now set for June 30.

A spokesman for the ministry said that more time is needed to properly inform the public of the change and the fact that owners of older television sets who receive broadcast signals by antenna will need to purchase a converter kit to receive the digital (DTT) signal. “We discovered that there is a general lack of knowledge of the migration to the digital signal,” the spokesman said. “Some households are completely unaware of the change and the fact that they need to purchase a converter.”

The ministry said it is also concerned about 900,000 poor households that use older television and will have difficulty affording the converter.

Households served by cable and satellite connections already receive the digital signal.

According to the ministry, a public education campaign will inform the public about the change to between now and June. Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca will be the first cities to convert, with the rest of the country to follow over a two month period.