Gov’t committed to digital switchover by 2023

MINISTER OF Tourism Edmund Bartlett has reiterated the Government’s commitment to completing the switch from analogue to digital free-to-air television by 2023.

Jamaica is undertaking a phased transition to digital broadcasting technology, with the initial focus on the main urban centres, as of January 2022.

Broadcasters will have at least one year of simultaneous digital and analogue broadcast to give them time to change their equipment and test the new system.

Closing the 2021/22 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Bartlett said that “fully digital free-to-air television service will significantly improve the number of channels, thus allowing Jamaicans wider access to information”.

“That is critical. We have begun the process to transition and expect that by 2023 the process will be completed,” he noted.

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information indicates that approximately 83.7 per cent of Jamaicans still use analogue free-to-air television service.