CC image courtesy of Ji-Ho Park.
Tanzania will not switch back to analogue broadcasting, despite concerns over decoder affordability, the country’s minister of communication, science and technology has said.
Minister Makame Mbarawa presented a statement on Friday, June 21, in response to Moses Machali, member of parliament at Kasulu Urban.
Machali had suggested switching back to analogue broadcasting due to the country’s poverty levels, which makes it difficult for Tanzanians to afford the necessary decoders.
HumanIPO reported earlier this month on Tanzanians’ request for an analogue comeback.
However, Mbarawa said: “We are not going back to analogue.”
Motivating his firm stance, he referred to clearer signal quality and the multipurpose of sets with digital broadcasting.
Furthermore, more than 120 channel signals can be received with digital broadcasting which is not possible with analogue television.
“Going back to analogue will be more costly as in the next few years analogue TVs would have been phased out and the cost of maintenance will be much higher,” he said.
According to Mbarawa, there are approximately 600,000 television sets in Dar es Salaam and an estimated 250,000 decoders had been sold by April.
