Public Perception of the Digital Terrestrial Television Migration in Ghana

Abstract

The study explored public perception of Digital Terrestrial Television Migration in urban communities in Ghana with a focus on East Legon. The main objective was to find out the level of understanding and appreciation of the respondents as far as television migration is concerned. Primary source of data for the study was collected through interviews, using a semi-structured questionnaire which was administered to respondents. The main finding of the study was that the level of understanding and appreciation of digital migration was above average. Another finding was that Ghana and the rest of West Africa were lagging behind East Africa in digital migration. Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are among East African countries who have either successfully switched off analogue transmission or are at advanced stages of doing so. This may be attributed to that fact that East African countries set a 2012 deadline for themselves despite the global deadline set for 2015 by the International Telecommunication Union in Geneva. Such a move by the East African countries obviously helped quicken the pace with which they intend to migrate to full digital transmission and encourage other countries to follow suite. The study recommended that policy makers in Ghana ought to strategise and expedite action on digital migration so that its full benefits would accrue to the country as a whole.