El Salvador initiates digital switchover

By Portal & Asociados

On December 21, 2018, the government of El Salvador officially started the transition from analogue television to digital television in the country. "This marks a new era in the history of open television in El Salvador. It is as important as the step taken many years ago from black and white television to color television”, said Blanca Coto, director of El Salvador’s electricity and telecommunications regulator (Siget, for its Spanish acronym).

The digital television transition, also called the digital switchover, is the process in which older analog television broadcasting is converted to and replaced by digital television. Starting in state institutions, El Salvador had set 31 December, 2018 as the date from which all broadcasts will be digital, adopting the Japanese-Brazilian standard ISDB-T to start the transition. “Digital television will provide opportunities for the inclusion of new commercial and community operators”, valued President Salvador Sánchez Cerén.

According to a press release from El Salvador’s Presidency, digital television will provide several benefits to the Salvadoran population, such as an interactive menu with access to consultation of public information, a system of weather alerts and warnings, and the possibility of watching free television on mobile devices without consuming data.

"Without a doubt this is a historical milestone in the country, it is a new starting point, we are entering a new era," added Secretary of Communications and Governance of the Presidency, Roberto Lorenzana.