The Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) will soon introduce its third channel, nbc 3, which will focus on general entertainment
NBC board chairman Sven Thieme made the announcement at the official launch of the corporation’s Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) system, which will see it migrate from analogue to digital television broadcasting.
According to Namibian newspaper New Era, NBC has finalised the digitalisation of its networks and has instructed households to purchase decoders that will enable them to watch digital free-to-air television.
Thieme said, “We are also due to complete the technical readiness in Oshakati, Eenhana, Kamanjab, Erongo and Impalila Island, and we will announce when residents of those areas can buy the decoders soonest.”
The switchover is in line with the Roadmap for Digital Broadcasting in the Southern African Domestic Community (SADC), the deadline for which has been set for December 2013.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has meanwhile set the global switchover date as June 2015.
Namibia’s minister of information and communication technology, Joel Kaapanda, has praised the initiative to switch from analogue to digital, adding that the country has made good progress in DTT migration.
Among milestones achieved are the DTT policy and national plan, as well as the establishment of a DTT Forum, Kaapanda said.
The DTT policy is aimed at creating an enabling environment and legal framework within which digital migration should take place in the country, he added.
The national DTT Forum consists of various stakeholders including NBC, TBN, One Africa, CRAN, MultiChoice and MISA.
Kaapanda further disclosed that the issuing of multiplex and signal distribution licences were at an advanced stage and that the DTT policy would accelerate the process.
