Malawi says digital network to be ready November 30

Malawi says that it will soon launch the Digital Network which is scheduled to be up and running by November 30.

Digital Migration Coordinator in the Ministry of Information, Dennis Chirwa told Malawi News Agency (Mana) that government has started installation of Digital Broadcasting Equipment which arrived in the country last week from China.

“Installation of the equipment has already begun in Lilongwe which will be the location of the main control centre. The main control centre will house several computers that will be used to monitor signals and channels.

“We will start testing signals in the next two weeks, as such we will soon start requesting all licensed TV stations in the country to give in their signals,” said Chirwa.

He further said that once everything is operational, stations will also be required to submit their weekly programme line-ups because the equipment software will permit viewers to see what programmes will be featured on the channels every week, as is with the case with DStv.

He said that the main control centre will manage a total of 24 channels and to ensure that there is uninterrupted power supply, the premises will also be equipped with stand-by generators.

Malawi has set December 31, 2013 as the digital switch on date and December 31, 2014 as the analogue switch off date ahead of the 2015 deadline where countries are required to move from analogue to digital broadcasting.