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Golden Sibanda Senior Business Reporter
State-owned broadcast transmission services company Transmedia is targeting to install transmission equipment in the country’s remote areas first under the ongoing multimillion-dollar digitisation programme to migrate from the analogue system.

Zimbabwe has a target to complete the process of migrating from analogue to digital television transmission by end of this year, but is likely to miss the target as Government is yet to release funding this year due to stiff competition for limited resources.

Transmedia requires a total of $125 million for the digitisation programme in line with the recommendations of the International Telecommunications Union (ICU), but less than 30 percent has been released so far.

Migrating to digital transmission has a number of benefits as it allows for provision of more services with a single frequency on the digital platform able to carry up to 20 television transmission services. As such, digitising transmission will bring about efficient use of the medium.

Transmedia chief executive officer Mrs Florence Matambo-Sigudu told The Herald in an interview at the 57th edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) held in Bulawayo last week that some of the peripheral areas were ready to receive digital signal.

“The progress so far is that we are starting the whole project by equipping or building new (transmission equipment) towers at the periphery of our country, because we know that the rural areas are the ones that have been disadvantaged in the past,” Mrs Matambo-Sigudu said.

“In Matabeleland North we are building a new tower in Hwange, we have got another in Binga at Manjolo. In Manjolo, the tower has in fact been completed; the Hwange one is in progress and the Victoria Falls tower is too old and needs to be replaced, in fact it was damaged by a storm.

“Between Hwange and Binga we have Kamativi and there is an old tower there, which is okay and the equipment has been replaced and we are ready to roll. Kenmore in Lupane is also ready, it has been equipped and the tower refurbished,” she said.

Ms Matambo-Sigudu said the previously disadvantaged areas of Matabeleland North were ready for the digital signal and only await Government to pay and receive delivery of set top boxes that receive the signal.

The boxes function the same way as satellite dishes.

“We are ordering 400 000 set top boxes so that we can start rolling out in those areas. Other areas also ready for digital signal include Manicaland; Nyanga is ready, Mutare is ready, Chimanimani is under construction, Honde Valley is under construction and then we come farther up (the province) where we will be building new sites in Bikita, so that we cover the areas in Murambinda, which are part of Manicaland.

“So we are really going around the periphery of our country. In Matabeleland South we have got West Nicholson, Beitbridge, Chikombedzi and Gwanda which has an old site, we have a site in Matopos, which was problematic because of the terrain and ground,” she added.

Other sites will be built in Masvingo, Zvishavane and Insiza, which are part of the many sites Government, through Transmedia, will construct to ensure the entire country receives the high quality TV transmission signal.

Ms Matambo-Sigudu said digitisation of television transmission would result in transmission coverage, which was at 76 percent, shrinking by 50 percent, meaning Transmedia needed to build at least 24 more transmission equipment towers to double the number of the towers available.

“We have done only 30 percent of the work we planned to do and we are not very happy with that. The progress really depends on funding, we had a target to complete (digitisation) this year, but we will not be able to meet that target, we are now in May and funding has not been released.”