Cuba announces digital TV trials next month

Cuba is beginning a gradual rollout of digital television with trials next month in Havana, authorities said Monday.

In a statement published in Communist Party newspaper Granma, the Communications Ministry said signal decoder boxes donated by China will be distributed to some residential users for testing in neighborhoods around the capital, with a charge of about 30 cents apiece.

"Cuba is preparing for the progressive introduction of digital television, consistent with technological evolution on the international level," the statement read.

President Raul Castro's government controls nearly all media on the island, including a complete monopoly on radio and TV airwaves.

Cuba's foray into digital TV will use the Chinese standard DTMB, or Digital Terrestrial Multimedia Broadcast.

Analog reception will not be affected by the testing, the Communications Ministry said.

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