(19 May 2006 2:00 pm)

MUMBAI: China is planning to launch digital cable television across the country this year. The country had tested the switch from analogue to digital through a three-year pilot programme and the positive result has inspired the government to go ahead with the expansion plan.

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television administration vice director Zhang Gaitao said at a national conference on cable TV that the right time had come for China to popularize digital cable TV, as the country now has the technology and hardware following the three-year trial program.

Reportedly, the pilot program has been testing the switch from analog cable television to digital cable television in 49 areas since 2003. The digital switch has already taken place in the cities of Qingdao, Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Mianyang and now the process has moved to municipalities including Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong and Guangxi.

China has more than 120 pay television channels licensed by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, with over one million digital cable TV users.