Analog television broadcasts in Singapore will stop by the end of 2017, according to the Ministry of Communications and Information.
Public broadcaster Mediacorp converted all seven of its free-to-air (FTA) TV channels to the digital terrestrial transmission (DTT) format in December 2013, but continues to broadcast in analog. This will end next year.
Minister Yaacob Ibrahim said that the freed-up spectrum will provide more capacity for mobile broadband and better support Singpaore’s Smart Nation development.
Analog broadcasting in Singapore could be turned off before 2020. Viewers who want to continue watching FTA television channels after digital migration will need to buy either a new TV set with a built-in digital tuner or connect a digital set-top box (STB) and an indoor antenna to their existing TV sets.
A label issued by the Media Development Authority (MDA) indicates whether the TV set or STB is compliant with Singapore's digital format.
The MDA also offers free digital STBs to low-income households, and says it has installed digital TV receivers to almost half of the 77,000 homes that automatically qualified for assistance.