On Wednesday, a group from Da Nang’s relevant agencies and the Viet Nam Television Technical Transmission and Broadcasting Centre checked the installation of DVB-T2 set-top boxes (STBs), which decode the digital TV signals, in the Hoa Son and Hoa Bac communes in Hoa Vang District.  They also inspected the quality of the digital signal coverage in these communes.

To date, 5,664 out of the 5,788 local households living below or near the city’s poverty threshold have been provided with free-of-charge STBs.  However, it is reported that many of them have no access to digital channels on their TVs because they use completely inappropriate antennas or their devices are installed improperly. 

Adjusting the operation of antennas in Gian Bi Village

Currently, many of the district’s mountainous villages, including Ta Lang, Gian Bi, Dai La and Xuan Phu, also have no access to digital channels on their TVs due to the poor quality of the digital signal coverage there.

According to the municipal Department of Information and Communications, the establishment of digital broadcasting stations in these mountainous villages will cost a lot of money and prove ineffective because there are shadow zones where the signal cannot penetrate due to obstacles in its path.  As a result, many poor families will have to use their own money to buy digital satellite receivers or subscribe to pay-TV services.

The Department is now asking for permission from the municipal People’s Committee to provide free-of-charge digital satellite receivers to households living below or near the city’s poverty threshold, along with social policy families, in local mountainous villages.