Slow progress for Venezuelan DTT development


Details

Juan Fernandez Gonzalez

| 16 January 2016




Nearly one million homes are now connected to DTT in Venezuela through subsidised set-top boxes (STBs), 20% less than expected by the public telco.



The latest official figures said 996,000 homes are getting the digital TV signal thanks to free STBs, meaning less than 15% families have subsidised access to the network.

In June 2015, Compañía Anónima Nacional Teléfonos de Venezuela (Cantv) reported 700,000 free STBs had been delivered, and half a million more would be handed over by December to reach 1.2 million, a figure which hasn't been achieved.

The plans of Cantv have suffered continuous delays since DTT deployment process started in 2012, both regarding technology delivering and infrastructures.

The government maintains 60% of the country is covered by the signal, a coverage rate that has remained the same since 2014. Cantv hasn't released any figures showing how many have the necessary technology to watch DTT channels.

The situation in Venezuela is not really different to other Latin American countries. With the exception of Mexico and Argentina, DTT deployments are far from being completed in most of the territories.