The Hanoitimes – Vietnam plans to completely switch from analogue television to digital television by 2020 with five major cities finalising the switchover in 2015.

This is part of the scheme o­n digitising the transmission of television signals through 2020, announced by Deputy Minister for Information and Communications Le Nam Thang. Thang said the scheme aims to modernise Vietnam’s television transmission system, streamline the use of radio frequencies and allocate part of the radio frequency resources for mobile and wireless broadband services.

The scheme also aims to provide better quality television programmes to the Vietnamese audience, the Deputy Minister added. Under the scheme, all Vietnamese households will have television sets capable of receiving digital signals in 2020.

In order to speed up the proliferation of digital television, the Government will provide subsidies for around 2 million poor households so that they can buy set-top boxes as an add-on to their current TV sets.

Regulatory bodies will also require TV makers to integrate digital signal reception functions into their products from now until 2020.

As planned, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Da Nang and Can Tho will switch off analogue signals and broadcast all of their programmes using digital technology by the end of 2015. The remaining provinces are expected to complete the switchover by the end of 2020.