The process of migration from the analogue to the digital television system in Angola will be completed within a period of five to eight years, an official said on Tuesday in Luanda at a ceremony to launch a pilot project.

The project, which covers the provinces of Luanda, Cabinda and Malanje, is a decisive step including the launch of the Integrated Digital Broadcasting Services – Terrestrial (ISDB-T), according to the Angop news agency.

The launch was attended by the Minister of Media and Telecommunications and the Minister for Information Technologies, respectively, Nuno Caldas Albino and José Carvalho da Rocha, and the Ambassador of Japan in Angola, Hironori Sawada.

The project, in addition to allowing for high definition broadcasting, will also provide telecommunications micro-businesses and encourage citizens to build a business in the area of communications and telecommunications.

The Media Minister said that after the pilot project, now launched in the province of Luanda, the expansion of the digital network across the whole country will begin, “for which we are relying on funding from Japan.”

The Ambassador of Japan in Angola said that the digital television system, in addition to improving media communication, will also benefit telecommunications and noted that his country was already providing technical support to approximately 20 other countries. (macauhub)