First digital terrestrial television network starts broadcasting

KABUL Broadcast System (ABS), an Afghan-owned media company based in Kabul, on Wednesday celebrated the launch of Afghanistan’s first digital television service.

The introduction of Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) is placing Afghanistan’s television sector on the same footing as some of the world’s most developed nations, including the US, European Union (EU) and Australia.

“This will be a monumental achievement, not only for the Afghan media sector, but for the whole region,” explained Andreas Wilmers, the COO of ABS tasked with managing the Oqaab product launch.

“The arrival of Digital TV in Afghanistan means that Afghans will now be able to watch a wide range of national and international channels in a quality that has never before been available in Afghanistan,” he added.

Wilmers added that the Oqaab service would be breaking new ground in several other areas, to include the inclusion of a weekly digital programming guide (previously unheard of in Afghanistan) as well as the option to subscribe to a pre-paid TV service with international news, documentary, and entertainment channels.

The service is branded “Oqaab” (meaning “eagle” in Dari), and allows viewers to watch television with clear, crisp picture and sound quality, free from the static disruptions and poor quality of the existing analogue television transmissions. 

Oqaab will be transmitting in the digital standard DVB-T2, allowing for the broadcast of many more TV channels than the previous analogue standard. Additionally, DVB-T2 allows for the reception of full high-definition (HD) quality signals.

With a multi-million dollar investment in infrastructure and personnel, ABS has launched the service initially in Kabul, to be followed shortly by subsequent service launches in 20 provincial capitals within the next three years. 

In order to access the service, TV viewers need only buy a low-cost, light-weight Oqaab DVB-T2 receiver at designated retail outlets, and follow an easy installation process to set up the receiver in their homes. 

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