Nepal to Make the Switch from Analogue TV to Digital

The government’s plan to switch the country’s analogue television broadcasting system to digital is expected to happen soon.

Though the government had decided to make it mandatory for analogue cable television viewers to switch to the digital system from November 15, its implementation was delayed.

A petition filed by Bijendra Lal Joshi against the government’s plan to end analogue cable TV broadcasting system states that the implementation of a digital TV broadcasting system will hinder the access of information by Nepalis and violates the constitutional provision of uninterrupted broadcasting in Nepal.

Regardless, the Ministry of Information and Communications, which is authorised to digitise the country’s television broadcasting, said it would start the process of implementing digital television broadcasting as soon as possible.

Under the digital system of cable TV broadcasting, customers are required to connect set-top boxes to their television sets, which will enable them to view clear and high definition TV channels. Implementation of the system is also expected to increase the government’s revenue as cable TV subscribers have been viewing channels on multiple sets through a single cable. But under the new digital system, one set-top box will allow broadcast only on one television.

According to FNCTA, there are 3.2 million cable TV subscribers in the country. Sudeep Acharya, chief executive officer of Dish Home — a digital cable service provider — said Nepal was obliged to switch to digital TV broadcasting as directed by the International Telecommunication Union to its member states.