Zambia is on course to meet a June 2015 deadline of switching from analogue to digital broadcasting, according to the country’s minister of information and broadcasting.

The International Telecommunications Union has set June 2015 as the deadline for digital migration.

And Zambia’s information and broadcasting minister Joseph Katema said the process of migrating to digital by the Southern African country is on course and that government has embarked on a countrywide education campaign.

Katema made the announcement last week after unveiling a transmitter that is planned to broadcast both analogue and digital signals for the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC).

Over the past week, the Zambian government has been launching such transmitters in a bid to showcase the country’s readiness to migrate to digital broadcasting before the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) deadline.

Katema said the installation of the transmitters is also in line with the Zambian government’s commitment to ensure public access to information.

“The new transmitter is a dual-cast, meaning that it has both analogue and digital transmission facilities. This is a significant step towards Zambia’s digital migration process and we are on course to meet the deadline,” Katema said.

Zambia has awarded the first phase of its digital migration project to Star Software Technologies Company of China.