Selecting technologies for the digital TV switchover in Bangladesh

Abstract

From the perspective of a developing country, the selection of correct digital technology for state-owned television might appear as a decisive testimony of national interest. In selecting appropriate technology, factors such as user acceptance, commercialization prospects, network externalities or cost-effectiveness have significant influence. However, the causal element(s) that have the greatest impacts in the developing countries have not been discussed enough. This article thus aims to examine the technology selection process through the ongoing digital television switchover in the Bangladesh experience. In line with recent global escalation of changing broadcasting technology from analogue to digital, the International Telecommunication Union apprized the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) to complete the digital TV switchover by 2015. In 2021, the GOB had not yet completed it. This article primarily aims to discover why it has not been possible to complete the switchover in Bangladesh to date. With a few exceptions, little work has been done on how developing countries decide to choose a technology over another and how they exclude other latent technology for media industry. During the technology selection process, how the various options and parameters work and how they incorporate with the existing media policies are in need of examination. Although there may be some common parameters while selecting technology universally, within the developing countries, aspects of country-specific contexts might be different. Rather than verifying the technology chosen, this article aims to explain that how the selection process occurs within the television sector in the developing countries.