The Zambian government has set 1 October 2017 as the date for a complete switchover to digital broadcasting from analogue television services along the line of rail.

Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services Kampamba Mulenga said all towns along the line of rail from Chilabombwe on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Livingstone (bordering Zimbabwe) will completely migrate to digital broadcasting by the October deadline.

The Minister has since directed public signal distributor TopStar Communication Company Limited to enhance its marketing campaigns in all the towns and districts affected by the analogue switch off.

She has also directed the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) to quickly facilitate the transition of its licenses to digital broadcasting platforms.

According to the Minsiter TopStar Communications is now fully operational and is distributing set top boxes at a cost of K200.

"Since Zambia partially met the June 17, 2015 set by ITU, we have been running simulcast television services along the line of rail under phase 1 of our digital migration project. This means that television transmission has been in both analogue and digital in urban areas, but now is the time for a complete switch over."

She said installation of equipment under phase 2 and 3 of the project has been completed in other major towns of the country, while equipment for 30 remote sites has been delivered and installations are currently underway and will be completed by the end of this month.

TopStar Chief Executive Officer Leo Liao said the company has invested US$273 million in the country's digital migration project.