The switch-off of Alenquer's analogue television relay, on 12 May, was the culmination of a process of technical preparation and a public communication plan, which involved various national and local media and which was particularly intense in recent weeks.
The country's first exercise in migration to DTT followed a three-pronged approach: a focus on ensuring that all citizens in the area covered by the relay were properly informed - through public information sessions, involvement of local authorities and other local partners, and careful oversight of the process.
Four days after the switch-off, it is now clear that the process was successful, since no reports have been received, either by the local help desk provided by ANACOM and DG Consumidor, by ANACOM's helpline, or by Alenquer Municipal Council, of any instances of citizens being left without access to the free, unrestricted television service (RTP1, RTP 2, SIC and TVI). Meanwhile, the DTT helpline (the number given in the message broadcast by Alenquer's analogue relay) only reported a single case of interruption to the open signal television service.
As such, it can be concluded that the process of migrating to DTT in the pilot area of Alenquer has been accomplished successfully.
The manner in which the process was managed in Alenquer and its result demonstrates that the migration to digital terrestrial television can occur smoothly and that people shouldn’t be left without being able to watch TV, as they have done for the last several decades. As with analogue television, digital television does not involve the payment of any fees and does not entail subscription to paid television services.
The communication plan will continue and will be gradually extended to reach the entire country, with the involvement of local partners and careful oversight on an ongoing basis (focusing particularly in coming weeks on the pilot zones of Agualva-Cacém). In the meantime, ICP-ANACOM calls on all citizens who will affected by the migration - homes which only have the channels RTP1, RTP 2, SIC and TVI (RTP1 and RTP Azores or RTP Madeira, in the respective autonomous regions) and which receive the signal through traditional television aerials on the roof (via terrestrial reception) - to prepare for DTT and get ready in good time for the switch-off of analogue television.
