Panama moves with a firm step towards digital switching on the DVB-T standard

From now on, all televisions less than 43″ sold in the country must necessarily incorporate a DVB-T tuner.

Since the beginning of 2018, Panama has taken another step in the analog blackout ordered by the National Public Services Authority (ASEP) adopting the European DVB-T (Digital Video Brodcasting Terrestrial) standard.

From now on, all televisions sold in the country must necessarily incorporate a DVB-T tuner. ASEP will give merchants a period of six months to offer consumers televisions equal to or smaller than 43 inches with DVB-T incorporated. At the end of the deadline, those economic agents who still have television sets with the previous specifications will have another six months to sell them to consumers, with the commitment to provide a free DVB-T decoder.

Once this period has expired, no agent will be able to sell televisions with these specifications without having the tuner.

Analog blackout phases

The Open Digital Television project comprises four phases, each lasting 18 months. The first began in 2011 in the provinces of Colón, Panamá and Panamá Oeste.

The second phase will take place in the provinces of Coclé, Herrera, Los Santos and Veraguas; The third phase covers the provinces of Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro, while the last phase includes the province of Darién.