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As Singapore is going to broadcast fully in digital in two years time, have anyone ever thought of the repercussion that will effect the poor and elderly folks here?
By going digital, MDA will free up a lot of band wave that they can sell to telcos and all others who need to use them. It has been announced that the poor and elderly will be given digital setup boxes that come with powered indoor antennas. Have you ever tried using indoor antennas to receive tv signals? The quality is usually very poor and sound and picture break up frequently.
By MDA’s action, they will be depriving the poor and elderly of the basic enjoyment of watching their favourite shows which are broadcast on the Free To Air channels. Only subscribers to the paid cable channels can still enjoy the FTA channels without interference. Is MDA forcing all to subscribe to cable TV?
We know who are the owners of those companies. When Mr Khaw Boon Wan was asked about replacing all HDB analog antennas to Digital ones, he said it was too expensive. He must have left his heart and conscience behind when he left the Health Ministry. Surely with the extra millions if not billions MDA will get from selling the freed up band wave can help to offset the cost of replacing the antennas?
I am staying close to Bukit Batok relay station and have tested out the digital setup box and powered antenna (version 1) and still have signal breakup no matter where in the house I placed the antenna. What about those staying far away and those living in 1,2 or 3 rooms rental flats? Do you think they can still relax in front of the google box after a hard days’ work cleaning tables or HDB corridors? This is the point I am stressing. PAP government, have a heart, think of the poor and elderly here as citizens of Singapore. They deserve as much right as the well off. Your pioneer package may help those sickly old folks, but they don’t benefit those healthy ones at all.
So now you are robbing them of they basic enjoyment so they will be stressed out and become sickly so that you can claim you are helping all old citizens here.
Richard Ong