The Government of Japan has financed, with a non-reimbursable amount of $10.8 million, the “Digital Terrestrial Television Transmission Network Development Project,” announced on Saturday, August 16, by the Japanese embassy in Angola.
According to Lusa, the exchange of notes was signed between the Japanese ambassador to Angola, Sano Hiroaki, and the Director of the International Cooperation Department of the Angolan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, José da Silva.
A press release from the Japanese embassy stated that in Angola, the penetration rate of the 4G mobile network and the Internet remains below 40%, making television a valuable source of information for the population. “Currently, television broadcasting in the country is done through an analog system, predominantly in Portuguese.
However, about 70% of the population uses various national (ethnic) languages, which generates high demand for subtitling and multilingual broadcasting—features of the Japanese digital terrestrial broadcasting standard,” the release noted.
For the Japanese government, this project is significant because Angola is vulnerable to natural disasters, making the implementation of emergency alert broadcasting necessary for more effective and efficient communication of weather and disaster prevention information, “making the adoption of the digital terrestrial system urgent.”
The project includes the installation and modernization of digital terrestrial transmission infrastructure and equipment at the Viana and Palácio da Justiça transmitter stations in Cidade Alta, Luanda Province, as well as at the Sombreiro station in the city of Benguela, aiming to “improve the Angolan population’s access to information, thereby reducing inequality in access to television and informational content.”
This assistance will be implemented through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which has been collaborating with Angola’s Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technologies, and Social Communication in this sector.
After the exchange of notes, the Government of Angola and JICA will sign a Grant Agreement.
Cooperation on the “Digital Terrestrial Television Transmission Network Development Project” will take place in three phases: Planning, Infrastructure Development and Equipment Supply, and Awareness and Outreach Activities for Viewers.
Source: Diário Económico
