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The Communication and Informatics Ministry (Kominfo) is preparing to start the first phase of the analog television broadcast switch-off from August 17, 2021.

“The government and stakeholders are preparing to ensure a smooth transition to digital broadcasts from August 17, 2021,” according to a press statement issued by the ministry here on Thursday.

The broadcasting areas that will be covered by the first phase of the analog switch-off (ASO) include Aceh 1 in Aceh Besar district and Banda Aceh city; Riau Islands 1 in Bintan district, Karimun district, Batam city, and Tanjung Pinang city; Banten 1 in Serang district, Cilegon city, and Serang city; Kalimantan 1 in Kutai Kartanegara district, Samarinda city, and Bontang city; North Kalimantan 1 in Bulungan city and Tarakan city; and, North Kalimantan in Nunukan district.

The government has asked residents living in the areas covered by the first phase of the ASO to switch to digital transmission, saying almost all analog broadcasts are now available in better-quality digital format.

Digital television broadcasts can be accessed through television sets equipped to receive such broadcasts, the ministry said. For television sets that do not support digital broadcasts, a set top box will need to be installed, it added.

The ministry said it is currently preparing to distribute set top boxes to low-income households. Set top boxes will be proportionally contributed by multiplexing operators and the government through the TVRI Public Broadcasting Institution, it added.

The set top box distribution under ASO’s first phase will be undertaken by private broadcasting institutions Surya Citra Media group, Media, and Rajawali, which have met the government's criteria for carrying out the task, the ministry said. The institutions will coordinate with regional administrations for distribution in regions included in ASO’s first phase, it added.

Since April 9, 2021, the ministry, through the evaluation team of terrestrial digital television broadcast multiplexing operators, has been conducting evaluations to qualify private broadcasting institutions as digital television broadcasting multiplexing operators in 12 provinces.

The evaluations are based on nine considerations -- national interest protection; information dissemination; equitable distribution of information; infrastructure readiness of broadcasting multiplexing operators; installation the multiplexing operators have earlier invested in; radio frequency spectrum utilization plan and/or radio frequency spectrum interference prevention; broadcasting ecosystem readiness; broadcasting industrial efficiency; investment protection; and/or analog switch off/ASO, the ministry informed.

Based on the evaluations, three private broadcasting institutions have met the criteria -- Surya Citra Media group comprising SCTV and Indosiar in 12 provinces; Media group: Metro TV in 11 provinces; and, Rajawali group or RTV in one province, it informed.

Four other groups— Trans Media, Media Nusantara Citra, Berita Satu, and Viva— are still being evaluated as of today, the ministry added. (Antaranews)