Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones

The Plenary of the IFT agrees that the termination of broadcasted television analog signals in Matamoros, Reynosa and Nuevo Laredo will be on January 14^th, 2015

• The SEDESOL defined the list of beneficiaries for the delivery program of TDT (Televisión Digital Terrestre) receivers implemented by the federal government 

• The SCT distributed receivers that are to meet more than 90% penetration among the beneficiaries of these established by SEDESOL and informed the IFT the compliance with the provisions of the legal framework 

• With this, the IFT determined that it is appropriate to conclude with the transmission of analog signals in coverage areas of television stations in the three cities in the northeastern border region 

• Broadcast TV service concessionaires and digital transmissions are already broadcasting in these areas

As provided in the Nineteen Transitional Article of the Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law, the Federal Telecommunications Institute (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones, IFT) must conclude the transmission of analog signals of broadcast television no later than December 31^st, 2015 by area of coverage, once this is achieved, in the appropriate area, a penetration rate of 90% of low-income households defined by the Ministry of Social Development (Secretaría de Desarrollo Social, Sedesol), with receivers or decoders capable of receiving digital signals. 

According to this legal arrangement is for the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes, SCT) to implement programs and actions associated with the Policy Transition to Digital Terrestrial Television (Política de Transición a la Televisión Digital Terrestre) for the delivery or distribution of the receiving equipment or decoders as well as to perform the accreditation of the penetration that the Policy appoints. 

Thus, the Article 18 of the TDT Policy stipulates that to the Plenary of IFT corresponds to solve that it is appropriate to fix the termination of analog broadcasting, once the SCT provides the information stating that they have reached a penetration level of receivers or decoders capable of receiving digital broadcasts in 90% or more in the low-income households defined by Sedesol in each coverage area. 

In addition to this, to determine the completion of the analog signals is required that digital transmissions are made in the entire area of corresponding coverage. 

When both assumptions are met, the IFT will determine the date and time of the termination of analogue transmissions as appropriate, which shall be considered in a business day, between the date of its determination and making this a period of at least four weeks, so that during this period can be informed the public about the transition to digital television. 

In this sense, on November 21^st, 2014, the SCT, through the Sub-secretariat of Communications, sent to the IFT the information on the penetration achieved in various areas of coverage of the Northeast Frontier Region (Matamoros, Tamaulipas and Nuevo Laredo) and contains the following:

i) The number of low-income households defined by Sedesol per coverage area of each broadcast television station;

ii) the number of low-income households defined by Sedesol in which capable receivers for receiving digital broadcasts coverage area of each broadcast television station have been delivered; and,

iii) the percentage of penetration with suitable receivers to receive digital transmissions in low-income households defined by Sedesol in each coverage area of each broadcast television station.

Penetration by TV station (main and complementary)

*Note: The number of households must not be summed up because many of them are provided of the service by more of one TV station.

Additionally, the IFT corroborate the current relationship of digital television broadcast transmissions under the authorized parameters on each of the aforementioned stations transmitting in Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros and Reynosa.

Thus, in a special meeting held today, the Plenary of the IFT determined that the conditions laid down in the existing legal framework, consisting in the coverage areas of these TV stations is exceeded credited 90% receptors penetration with eligible for digital transmissions in low-income households defined by Sedesol, and that digital transmissions are made in the areas of station coverage.

Given this, the Plenary agreed that television stations with broadcast call signs: XEFE-TV, XHBR-TV, XHLAR-TV, XHLAT-TV, XHLNA-TV, XHNAT-TV, XHMTA-TV, XHOR-TV, XHRIO- TV, XHVTV-TV, XHREY-TV, XERV-TV, XHAB-TV and XHTAM-TV, in the cities of Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa and Matamoros, from Tamaulipas state, must definitively cease their analog broadcasts at 00 : 00 hours on January 14^th, 2015.

According to the provisions of the TDT Policy, henceforth, the IFT and concessionaires should inform the public about the date and the time for the completion of analogue transmissions of those seasons.

In this regard it is important to note that the Institute has conducted since July this year and to date, in dissemination on a national level, several actions through various media (newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations, Internet portals and social networks), with which it has informed the public about the imminent conclusion of analogue transmissions in the country.

The transition to digital terrestrial television involves a process of modernization in this service, with various benefits to the population, such as the receiving of images and higher fidelity sound and / or resolution that currently allow analog transmissions and greater variety of access content through multiprogramming, among others.

In addition, the transition to this technology impulses rational and planned use of radio spectrum and better use of the 700 MHz band for the Deployment of International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) is achieved, which could translate into greater competition in the mobile telephony sector and best prices to end users of those services.