(Photo courtesy of BBS)

Bhutan aims to complete the digitalisation of cable TV by the end of this year, BBS reports.

The Bhutan InfoCom and Media Authority says more than 60 of the country’s 90 local cable operators have already gone digital. The local operators are being connected to two multi-service operators.

The digitalisation programme began in the capital, Thimphu, in 2018 and has been extended to much of Bhutan. The focus is now on five districts in the more rural east of the country.

Despite the equipment being available, one of the challenges has been a lack of expertise.

Phuntsho Choden, the proprietor of one cable service, said most customers in her district had been asking for a better quality visual but due to limited expertise, the company had not been able to fulfil public demand.

“They have been asking for digitisation of the cable service and we will give it. The equipment is ready and it won’t take much,” she told BBS.

To help meet this challenge, the Ministry of Labour and Human Resources, in partnership with a private company, has completed a week of training on how to go digital for local cable operators from the five eastern districts.