Zambia has made progress in efforts to migrate to digital broadcasting ahead of the June 2015 deadline set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

The country has managed to migrate the capital Lusaka as the first step (first phase) towards nationwide migration before the deadline.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services Chanda Kasolo launched the trial of digital broadcasting in Lusaka yesterday while promising that other parts of the country will also switch on to digital broadcasting soon.

The tender for first phase of the country's digital migration was awarded to Star Software Technologies of China in July last year.

The Zambian government said then that the country's digital migration project would be divided into the first, second and third phase beginning with Lusaka and later other towns.

However, the Zambian government has not said which company will implement the second and the third phases of the project.

Kasolo said the country is on course to beat the migration deadline set by the ITU. "Today we are witnessing the switch off of analogue broadcasting and the switching on of digital broadcasting in Lusaka. Other areas of the country will also soon be switched on to digital broadcasting."