Azerbaijan to switch over to digital TV 'very soon'

Azerbaijan will fully switch to digital broadcasting by early 2012, the chairman of the National Television and Radio Council has said.

The council has already completed all the work to switch to digital broadcasting and it is likely that by early next year Azerbaijan will finally give up analogue TV and fully switch to digital broadcasting, Nushiravan Maharramli said.

"The council is asking the public to switch to digital television. Decoders designed to connect to TVs will be sold in the country to help the transition to digital broadcasting," Maharramli added.

Maharramli said the decoders would cost approximately AZN 30 to 35 ($38 to $44). "The era of analogue television is about to end in Azerbaijan," the council chief said. Regarding satellite dishes, Maharramli said that the council and Azerbaijani government were working to expand cable television networks.

"In this connection, it seems that the need for satellite antennas will soon disappear. But we do not want to carry out this process by force. The expansion of the cable television network will enable people to get high quality TV and will be beneficial for them," he said.

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