Two million free digital set-top boxes for needy households - Shabery Cheek

Two million units of the set-top box will be distributed free of charge to selected low-income households to enable them watch digital TV broadcast when the service is introduced, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said the set-top box would be given to recipients of the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M) and e-Kasih poverty-eradication programmes.

"The digital TV broadcast cannot be received by television sets which use the analogue system. Many people in the rural areas do not subscribe to the Astro service and, as such, they should be given assistance.

"One of the conditions agreed to between the suppliers and implementers of the (digital TV) service is the provision of the set-top box free of charge to enable this target group to receive the digital TV broadcast," he said when replying to a question from Datuk Abd Latiff Ahmad (BN-Mersing).

Abd Latiff had wanted to know whether the government would provide assistance or incentives to enable poor rural people to enjoy the digital TV broadcast when it is introduced.

Ahmad Shabery said the introduction of the digital TV service was in keeping with the trend in global broadcasting that allowed for the use of the radio wave spectrum in a more optimal and efficient manner.

"This allows for the broadcast of more interactive programmes and better quality video broadcasts," he said.

The minister said digital TV transmission tests were expected to begin at the end of this month via the transmitting stations in Bukit Pelindung, Kuantan, in Pahang; Bukit Besar in Terengganu and Machang in Kelantan.

"The installation of infrastructure is expected to be completed at the end of next year, with the Klang Valley being the last of the areas to get it in view of the need for greater development and cost," said the Kemaman MP.

Replying to a supplementary question from Abd Latiff, he said the government would ensure that the switch over from the analogue TV to the digital TV system did not run into snags and would see how best it could supervise the television stations in the country.

"The question of backtracking does not arise because, ultimately, the analogue system has to be terminated between 2018 and 2020 as part of the spectrum will be used for another purpose.

"In other words, whether we like it or not, we have to terminate the analogue TV like how we terminated the black-and-white broadcast. There is no choice, everyone has to migrate," he said.

Answering a supplementary question, from Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan (PAS-Kota Baharu), on a claim that private television stations seemed to monopolise the broadcasting industry in the country so much so that it placed a burden on consumers, Ahmad Shabery said consumers had a choice.

He said the government was developing the digital TV system based on the free-to-air system with the use of transmitting towers to broadcast to consumers instead of using the satellite or cable systems.

This new model provided an alternative for consumers for the digital TV system when it was introduced, he added.