THE THIRD year of the transition from analog to digital television is likely to face delays due to technical issues and a lack of supportive facilities at relay sites, with the next milestone in the transition, scheduled for next May, being missed.
"We are, however, trying our best to work closely with all providers of digital TV [transmission] networks and related parties, such as facility providers, namely CAT Telecom and TOT, in order to solve these problems and reach 90-per-cent coverage by May next year, " Supinya Klangnarong, a member of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, said yesterday.
Supinya, who also serves as chairwoman of an NBTC subcommittee overseeing consumer-rights protection, said the problem was that there were some issues around the use of TOT's facilities for digital TV transmission as relay sites. In addition, TOT's existing facilities that are currently being used for telecommunication service do not support broadcasting equipment.