As recently reported by several specialized websites, the Autoridad Nacional de Servicios Publicos de Panama (ASEP) has ordered to postpone the analog blackout in Panama, whose first phase was originally scheduled for October 2020. According to the information reported, the new date will take place in June next year. 

‘Mobility problems caused due to the Covid-19 pandemic to measure the penetration of the system in households is the reason indicated in the regulator’s resolution to make the decision’, they reported regarding the reasons for the new deadline implemented for the DTT migration in Panama.

The first phase of the analog blackout, which will take place in the provinces of Panama, Panama Oeste and Colon, was originally scheduled for October 1st, 2020. According to several specialized websites, previously, measurements were contemplated to examine whether the digital system reached a penetration of 90% of households, a percentage established according to a 2010 regulation.

In 2009, Panama adopted the DVB-T system for digital broadcasts. A year later, a transition plan was presented, in which four phases were established for the transition to DTT in the country. Phase II covers the provinces of Cocle, Herrera, Los Santos and Veraguas; phase III includes Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro; and phase IV, the province of Darien.