The National Communications Commission (NCC) is mulling subsidizing low-income families to purchase set-top boxes as part of its plans to completely shut down analog channels by 2012.
The commission has submitted two proposals to the Executive Yuan detailing measures to facilitate the switch from analog to digital terrestrial TV service. One of the proposals calls on the government to subsidize all viewing households to buy set-top boxes. The other proposal advises the government to subsidize low-income families only.
Should the Cabinet opt for the first proposal, each household would receive a subsidy to buy one set-top box. If it chooses the second option, the government will subsidize the low-income families to buy not just set-top boxes, but cables and antennas as well.
The first proposal is estimated to cost approximately NT$12 billion (US$375 million), whereas the second is expected to cost NT$200 million.
NCC spokesperson Chen Jeng-chang (陳正倉) said though the Executive Yuan has yet to officially announce which proposal it would choose, the government is leaning toward the second one.
“The NCC will be charged with budgeting the cost for the set-top box purchase,” he said.
In related news, the commission has amended the methods it uses to evaluate the performance of the satellite television service. Specifically, license renewal applications for satellite television channels that are rated “excellent” for two consecutive years would be reviewed directly by the commissioners, rather than by the task force that did the preliminary review. The new method is designed to reward television operators for good performance.
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