BabuK
JF-Expert Member
- Jul 30, 2008
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- 330
As the deadline for switching off analogue television broadcasting expires today, some Dar es Salaam residents have complained that the decoders they purchased have technical problems.
A survey conducted by The Guardian in various shops in Dar es Salaam yesterday found queues of people seeking to have the technical hitches rectified.
Some residents told The Guardian in separate interviews that the decoders they have bought had freezing problems.
A city resident Winifrida Lwasa said that her decoder has been freezing several times and that she was advised by the vendor to buy an antenna as a solution to the problem.
I have come here to buy an antenna because since I bought this decoder I have been facing problems. I dont get good television reception as I used to because the decoder has been freezing, said Lwasa.
Another resident of Kimara, identified as Janeth Msofe, said she bought the decoder a few months ago and has been experiencing a similar problem.
Sometimes I only see darkness on my television screen; it does not show anything. I once came here to report the problem and was told to buy a big antenna, but the problem persisted," she said.
She said she was advised by the vendor to bring the decoder so that they could check the problem. It worked for a few days and the problem recurred.
Tomorrow (today) is the deadline. How are we going to enjoy this digital migration when we have started noticing some problems? Msofe queried.
Another city resident, who preferred anonymity, advised the government to extend the deadline so as to fix such problems on decoders.
There is no need for the government to shift if its people are still facing problems it should extend the deadline to fix these problems, he said.
One of the vendors, who also preferred anonymity, attributed the problem to the low capacity of the transmission system.
The source said the capacity of the transmission systems at Kisarawe has been overwhelmed, and that his company was working to install another system at Makongo Juu and once completed the problem would be eliminated.
Reached for comment, Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority Public Relations Manager Innocent Mungy said the problem was a technical onei which could not be addressed by his Authority, but rather by the company which manufactures the decoders.
The Minister for Communications, Science and Technology Prof Makame Mbarawa, in a weekend announcement said after the switch-off in Dar es Salaam tonight, analogue broadcasting in Dodoma and Tanga regions will be officially switched off on January 31, next year.
In Mwanza region the system will be switched off on February 28, next year, while in Kilimanajro and Arusha regions the shift to digital will be made on March 31.
In Mbeya region, analogue transmitters will be switched off on April 30. According to the minister, the switch-off of analogue transmitters will be executed only in areas that have digital broadcasting equipment.
The December 31 deadline was agreed by East African Community (EAC) partner states of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda, but Kenya has already announced an intention to push back the date to first finish its general elections lined up for next March, citing prohibitive costs of acquiring set-top boxes.
East African member states agreed to switch to digital broadcasting by December 31, 2012 ahead of the global migration deadline of June 17, 2015.
TCRA had earlier named Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Tanga, Arusha, Moshi, Mbeya and Mwanza as cities and towns which will receive TV broadcasting in digital format only from January 1.
Morogoro region has been placed on a trial basis while Mtwara, Lindi, Kigoma, Musoma and Iringa have been placed in a later implementation phase.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
A survey conducted by The Guardian in various shops in Dar es Salaam yesterday found queues of people seeking to have the technical hitches rectified.
Some residents told The Guardian in separate interviews that the decoders they have bought had freezing problems.
A city resident Winifrida Lwasa said that her decoder has been freezing several times and that she was advised by the vendor to buy an antenna as a solution to the problem.
I have come here to buy an antenna because since I bought this decoder I have been facing problems. I dont get good television reception as I used to because the decoder has been freezing, said Lwasa.
Another resident of Kimara, identified as Janeth Msofe, said she bought the decoder a few months ago and has been experiencing a similar problem.
Sometimes I only see darkness on my television screen; it does not show anything. I once came here to report the problem and was told to buy a big antenna, but the problem persisted," she said.
She said she was advised by the vendor to bring the decoder so that they could check the problem. It worked for a few days and the problem recurred.
Tomorrow (today) is the deadline. How are we going to enjoy this digital migration when we have started noticing some problems? Msofe queried.
Another city resident, who preferred anonymity, advised the government to extend the deadline so as to fix such problems on decoders.
There is no need for the government to shift if its people are still facing problems it should extend the deadline to fix these problems, he said.
One of the vendors, who also preferred anonymity, attributed the problem to the low capacity of the transmission system.
The source said the capacity of the transmission systems at Kisarawe has been overwhelmed, and that his company was working to install another system at Makongo Juu and once completed the problem would be eliminated.
Reached for comment, Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority Public Relations Manager Innocent Mungy said the problem was a technical onei which could not be addressed by his Authority, but rather by the company which manufactures the decoders.
The Minister for Communications, Science and Technology Prof Makame Mbarawa, in a weekend announcement said after the switch-off in Dar es Salaam tonight, analogue broadcasting in Dodoma and Tanga regions will be officially switched off on January 31, next year.
In Mwanza region the system will be switched off on February 28, next year, while in Kilimanajro and Arusha regions the shift to digital will be made on March 31.
In Mbeya region, analogue transmitters will be switched off on April 30. According to the minister, the switch-off of analogue transmitters will be executed only in areas that have digital broadcasting equipment.
The December 31 deadline was agreed by East African Community (EAC) partner states of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda, but Kenya has already announced an intention to push back the date to first finish its general elections lined up for next March, citing prohibitive costs of acquiring set-top boxes.
East African member states agreed to switch to digital broadcasting by December 31, 2012 ahead of the global migration deadline of June 17, 2015.
TCRA had earlier named Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Tanga, Arusha, Moshi, Mbeya and Mwanza as cities and towns which will receive TV broadcasting in digital format only from January 1.
Morogoro region has been placed on a trial basis while Mtwara, Lindi, Kigoma, Musoma and Iringa have been placed in a later implementation phase.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
