The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) outed a communication yesterday that urshed Uganda’s TV broadcasting into the digital age. In accordance with Section 5 (I), UCC is assigned to set national standards and ensure compliance with national and international standards and as of yesterday commenced the Analogue switch off in Uganda that is slated for the 17th of June 2015. This has however left several people in Kampala with no TV signals. In a statement UCC said:
[signoff icon=”quote-circled”]In light of this International deadline, the Commission shall be carrying out a phased switch off from 15th June 2015 leading to the period of total switch-off of analogue transmission in the entire country. The Commission is currently monitoring for any interference by analogue signals of the Digital signal at all of Uganda¡’s border points. The Commission hereby informs you that it is satisfied with the current digital terrestrial coverage that has existed for the past 18 months in Kampala and areas 60 (sixty) Km outside Kampala. [/signoff]
For those who are still looking for solutions, we published the list of UCC Type Approved Free to Air (FTA) Set Top Boxes (STB) and all the Digital Terrestrial Transmission equipment with their Vendors. The public is encouraged to purchase the Type Approved STB from UCC authorized vendors.
The Analogue switch off in Uganda shall be done in 3 phases, first was Kampala as surrounding areas and areas outside greater Kampala according to the following schedule:
- 2nd Phase: – by 31st July 2015 for Arua, Mbarara, Masindi, Masaka, Mbale, Hoima and Kisoro
- 3rd Phase – by 31st August 2015 for Jinja, Lira, Kiboga, Kabale, Soroti, Gulu, Fort Portal, Rukungiri, Ntungamo and Rubirizi
The commission further advised TV broadcasters to switch off analogue transmitters on 15th June 2015, two days in advance to facilitate the full digital migration in Kampala and surrounding areas.
