Malaysia to give away 2m STBs
April 7, 2015
By Chris Forrester
Malaysia’s government is planning to distribute 2 million DTT STBs free of charge to poorer consumers. Malaysia’s Communications & Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said the set top boxes would be given to peop0le who were already recipients of the 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) and e-Kasih poverty-eradication programmes.
“One of the conditions agreed to between the suppliers and implementers of the (digital TV) service is the provision of the set top box free of charge to enable this target group to receive the digital TV broadcast,” he told local newspaper Dewen Rakyat.
Malaysia is well ahead with its plans to cease analogue TV transmissions, with the bulk of the country already viewing digital TV. The final switch-off is slated for April 2016.