Indonesia will soon move on from analog TV to digital as the Communications and Informatics Ministry (Kominfo) on 17 August will start stopping analog TV broadcast, or popularly known as analog switch-off (ASO). Communications and Informatics Minister Johnny G. Plate on 22 July announced the digital migration plan in a press conference.

The decision is in line with Article 60A of Job Creation Law No.11/2020 which stated that terrestrial TV broadcast is to catch up with technological development and migrate from analog to digital. The migration will require TV owners to use a set top box (STB) DVBT2. STB is a tool to convert digital signals to audiovisual media to be displayed on TV. The ministry is preparing these STBs to be distributed to poor households. 

STB is required for the migration because analog TV only catches analog signal transmission, which is different from digital signal that is represented in data bits. In the same bandwidth used in analog TV today, these data bits will be able to deliver High-Definition Television (HDTV). Indonesian digital TV broadcast will also be able to provide 12 channels under one frequency, unlike analog TV broadcast that requires one frequency per channel. Aside from that, digital TV will have a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Phase I of the ASO programme will be held in select areas, namely Aceh Besar, Banda Aceh, Bintan, Karimun, Batam and Tanjung Pinang in Sumatra, Serang regency, Cilegon and Serang city in Java, as well as Kutai Kartanegara, Samarinda, Bontang, Bulungan, Tarakan and Nunukan in Kalimantan.

By the end of the migration programme, TV owners who did not set up an STB will no longer get any TV broadcast. After being a part of Indonesians’ lives since 1962, analog TV broadcast is expected to come to a full stop by 2 November 2022.