The National Director of Telecommunications of the Public Services Authority (Asep), Hildeman Rangel, announced to the country that on January 16, 2023, the first analog phase 1 television shutdown will take place.
“After having reviewed in consensus with all open television operators, we are ready to announce the execution of this first shutdown. This is an important announcement for the country because it constitutes a historic milestone for Panama and it will equal many of the other countries that have already migrated to digital television,” he said.
He stressed that all digitized systems have great benefits, in this case, people will be able to enjoy better signal and audio quality.
Rangel indicated that in the last measurement it was determined that 86% of the provinces are already prepared to receive the signal from open channels digitally. “The drills helped a lot to create awareness. We have records of other countries that have made analog shutdowns with much lower percentages, it will be a very positive change,” he said.
The official stressed that the percentage of households that are not prepared will have the appropriate time to buy the decoder boxes that allow them to receive the digital signal.
On May 4, Panama began the analog blackout drill to be able to implement the open digital television signal in several provinces of the country.
Asep prepared a roadmap for the implementation of three more drills. The execution will take place in four phases at the national level, beginning in the first instance in the provinces of Colón, Panama and Panama Oeste, as reported by the entity in recent months.
This process had the support of the country’s local television stations and prepared users for the conversion to the digital signal, since the analog transmission of local or national channels will cease and they will be left without service.
This initiative has the objective that people who currently receive open and free television and who have not yet switched to the digital signal, can adapt and be prepared for the definitive blackout.
Viewers will be able to access the digital signal from a television that already has a built-in DVB-T digital tuner. Otherwise, the antenna must be connected to an external decoder box.
In Panama, those who sell televisions for local consumption are obliged to sell television sets of up to 43 inches with a built-in DVB-T tuner, to facilitate the implementation of digital TV.
