The Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation reports that the timing of the complete transition to digital television in our country has been revised.
Let us remind you that a unique project is being implemented in Russia - a unified digital information space that ensures accessibility to the entire population of 20 mandatory public television and three radio channels.
Initially, it was planned to turn off analog TV in three stages. The first two were carried out on February 11 and April 15 of this year, and the third was planned to be carried out on June 3, disconnecting the remaining 57 regions of the Russian Federation from the “analogue”.
But now the government has decided to extend the transition to digital TV by introducing the fourth stage for 21 regions (the list will be approved by a special commission).
The schedule revision is due to several reasons. In particular, June 3 marks the beginning of the summer season. While most Russians already have at least one digital TV in their apartments, purchasing and setting up digital equipment in their dachas requires more time.
In addition, in the summer, many families are not at their main place of residence and do not prepare their televisions to receive a digital signal. In addition, due to the holiday season, a high tourist flow is expected in a number of regions, and therefore small hotels and the private sector may not have time to equip their premises with new televisions and set-top boxes for receiving digital TV.
It is also said that of the 500 million rubles that were allocated to provide assistance to the poor in the regions of the second stage, less than 10% was used. Therefore, the authorities decided to give more time to citizens so that they could take advantage of this money.
Taking this into account, the dates for the transition to digital television broadcasting in 21 regions of Russia have been postponed to October 14. However, all regions must be fully prepared for the transition to digital before the third stage on June 3.
Source: 3dnews.ru