Last week, the Ivorian government announced the exemption of customs duties and Value Added Tax (VAT) on equipment needed to receive digital terrestrial television (DTT) signals in Abidjan.
Set for June 17, 2020, by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the process of migrating to DTT and permanently switching off the current analog broadcasting system is underway.
According to the press release, this initiative will require households to purchase equipment suitable for receiving DTT signals at affordable prices, to replace their current analog receivers.
This measure will keep the retail price of decoders between 10,000 and 12,000 CFA francs, as originally planned. The success of DTT in Côte d'Ivoire obviously depends on equipping the population, so this is a very beneficial measure for the development of DTT.
It should be noted that, according to forecasts, 95 to 100% of Ivorians will be able to receive DTT in 2020.