Mexico City to turn off analog signal December 17

Mexican telecom watchdog IFT announced that the analog signal will be turned off in Mexico City on December 17, making the capital the last big city in the country to switch exclusively to digital TV.

Other cities that will turn off the analog signal the same day include: Pachuca (Hidalgo state); Altzomoni, Valle de Bravo, Cerro Pico Tres Padres, Jocotitlán (Estado de México); Puebla (Puebla); Agua Prieta and Caborca (Sonora); as well as the state of Tlaxcala.

The transport and communications ministry (SCT) told IFT that the cities and towns concerned had attained 90% penetration of digital TV sets and decoders, and, by law, are ready to proceed with the switchover.

IFT announced Thursday that a handful of other cities, including the second largest in the country, Guadalajara, will turn off their analog signal on December 16.

Mexico is on the last stretch of the nationwide digital switchover, for which the deadline is December 31. The government has come in for criticism for errors during the process, most notably the loss of TV services for half a million people in Monterrey when the city turned off its analog signal in September.