LUSAKA, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese pay-to-view television provider on Wednesday announced a cut in the prices of its decoders in Zambia to help local people benefit from a digital migration program.
TopStar Communication Company, a joint venture between Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) and Chinese digital television provider StarTimes, said it has reduced prices of the set top box to enable all Zambians to benefit from the television digital migration program being rolled out across the country.
Cliff Sichone, the firm's sale director said the decoders have been reduced from 199 Zambian Kwacha (22 U.S. dollars) to 99 Kwacha under a campaign meant to rolled out the decoders after the government subsidized the price.
He told reporters during a press briefing that the firm was committed to ensuring that citizens benefit from the television digital migration program, adding that the campaign will see more towns connected to the Topstar signal.
As the public signal distributor in Zambia, the firm will ensure that the digital signal was distributed across the country, he added.
Zambia will switch off all analogue television services in urban areas with effect from Oct. 1 this year as the southern African nation moves to digital television.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) had set June 17, 2015 as the deadline for countries to migrate from analogue to digital terrestrial television.
Zambia partially met the deadline but the country has been running simulcast television services in urban areas.
