New Timelines to Transition from Analogue Television to the Argentine Digital Terrestrial Television System

Decree No. 333/23, published in the Official Gazette on June 30, 2023, extended the deadlines established in the schedule approved by article 1 of Decree No. 156/22. The extension seeks to carry out the transition process from analogue television to the Argentine Digital Terrestrial Television System (SATVD-T).

Thus, the Decree extended the transition from analogue to digital television and divided it in three stages:

1. Stage I: repeater stations owned by Radio Y Televisión Argentina Sociedad Del Estado must cease analogue broadcasting by June 30, 2024, regardless of where they are located.
2. Stage II: origin stations owned by licensees and authorized stations through phases must consider the dates for ceasing analogue broadcasts and beginning digital broadcasts, dividing this process into East, South, Center, Northwest, and Northeast regions.
3. Stage III: all other repeater stations, as in Stage II.

The Decree was issued within the framework of Article 93 of the Audiovisual Communication Services Law No. 26522, the National Plan for Digital Audiovisual Communication Services approved through Decree No. 2456/14, and the implementation of the Argentine Digital Terrestrial Television System based on the ISDB-T (Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting Terrestrial) standard. This standard consists of implementing technological standards for transmitting and receiving digital terrestrial signals and broadcasting of images and sound. Empresa Argentina de Soluciones Satelitales Sociedad Anónima (AR-SAT) provides the infrastructure, multiplexing, and transmission services for Digital Terrestrial Television is provided to holders of licenses and authorizations for Digital Terrestrial Television audiovisual communication services through the National Digital Terrestrial Television Platform.

Digital television consists of transmitting information through digital signals encoded in binary format (bits), the technology of which would allow, among others, optimizing the use of the radioelectric spectrum, increasing the information transmission capacity, providing clearer images and better sound quality, which would be more efficient than analogue transmission television, which works using technology based on radioelectric pulses.