Transition to digital television: important information for trade organizations

In January 2019, the federal project "Unified Digital Information Space" will be fully implemented in Russia, ensuring that 20 mandatory publicly available television and 3 radio channels are available to the entire population in digital signal format.

20 channels of the first and second multiplexes are provided in digital format: the first multiplex of digital television includes: Channel One, Russia-1, Match!, NTV, Channel 5, Russia-Culture, Russia 24, Carousel, OTR, TVC. In the second – Ren-TV, Spas, CTC, Domashny, TV3, Friday, Zvezda, Mir, TNT, MuzTV.

At the same time, the analog broadcasting of these channels is reduced. Digital televisions (which include most televisions purchased after 2012) do not require any additional equipment, but if the TV is analog, then you must purchase a set-top box to receive a digital signal in DVB-T2 format.

The plan to disconnect Russian regions from analog television in Russia was approved by the decision of the Government Commission for the Development of Television and Radio Broadcasting on November 29, 2018 and provides for work in 4 stages.:

December 03, 2018 - Tver Region only,

February 11, 2019 - 7 regions,

April 15, 2019 - 20 regions,

June 03, 2019 - 57 regions, including Omsk region.

Thus, the analog broadcasting of mandatory publicly available TV channels in the Omsk region will be turned off at stage 4 – starting from June 3, 2019.

Trade organizations need to take into account that the demand for user equipment for digital television reception may increase especially in late May – June 2019, with peak demand occurring in the first 3 days after the shutdown of analog broadcasting.

In order to prevent unjustified price increases by manufacturers and sellers for user equipment for digital television reception, the Government of the Russian Federation has instructed during the first half of 2019:

- FAS of Russia: organize price monitoring for the specified products;

- Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia: To ensure, together with the executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation: monitoring the availability of user equipment for digital television reception in trade organizations; to work out the issue of creating stocks of equipment by Russian manufacturing organizations in order to prevent speculative price increases.

For example, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia, GS Group (a Russian multi-industry investment and industrial holding company operating on the basis of its own high technologies in the field of telecommunications and innovation) has the opportunity to arrange the supply of digital set-top boxes with a selling price of 750 rubles and an expected retail price of 999 rubles (phone number of the sales representative office of this company in the Omsk region: +7(3812) 43-38-68).

The Ministry of Economy of the Omsk region, in turn (on the recommendation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia), plans to post on the official website of the department information about retail facilities that have set-top boxes for receiving digital signals in DVB-T2 format with a price of up to 1,000 (one thousand) rubles.

Trade organizations interested in posting this information on the website of the Ministry of Economy of the Omsk region can send applications to the e-mail of the Trade Department of the Ministry: oslyusarenko@mineconom.omskportal.ru or by phone +7(3812) 37-40-05.