Digital switchover: why is the Caribbean so behind?

For those who regularly read our ICT/tech news roundup published on Mondays, you may have noticed that articles pertaining to ‘digital switchover” pop up from time to time. We, here at ICT Pulse, had discussed digital switchover a few years ago, 2012 to be exact, when it had been receiving considerable attention. In our post, Switching over to digital TV: what you need to know, we mentioned that 17 June 2015 was viewed internationally as the “analogue switch-off date” – “when the radio frequencies that have been allocated to analogue TV will be made available to other applications”.

Without a doubt, we have blown past the 17 June 2015 deadline; however, the Caribbean does not appear to be any closer to completing the switchover process:

• Indotel, the Dominican Republic telecoms regulator, announced last week that the country was extending the deadline to fully adopt digital terrestrial TV (DTT) to 2021, from the earlier commitment to switch off analogue TV by September 2015 (Source: Advanced Television)
• Last year, Spectrum Management Authority, in Jamaica, stated it had pushed back the date to commence the digital switchover by three years, to 2018 (Source: Jamaica Observer);
• Guyana has an approved switchover plan, which envisages the process beginning in 2016 and being completed by 2020 (Source: Kaieteur News)

Additionally, countries across the region may have been relying on the technical assistance that has been made available through soon to be concluded regional spectrum planning and management projects, which were funded by the Inter-American Development Bank. Though consultancies attached to those projects may have advised on the approach to be employed and how to mitigate challenges that could be experienced, it would still be incumbent on the countries to implement the switchover process.

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