Provision of Free Digital TV Starter Kits

Mr Png Eng Huat asked the Minister for Communications and Information whether the scheme to provide free digital TV (DTV) starter kits to all HDB households without cable TV service penalises households that had gone digital early as they thought they did not qualify for the initial DTV Assistance Scheme, which was conditional, and have hence missed out on the current offer of a free DTV starter kit or a $100 voucher to offset the purchase of DTV equipment with no other conditions attached.

Mr S Iswaran: The original Digital TV (DTV) Assistance Scheme, launched in September 2014, was aimed at helping low-income households transit from analogue free-to-air (FTA) TV to DTV, by providing and installing DTV equipment for them for free.

In April 2018, the Government expanded the DTV Assistance Scheme to help more Singaporean households move to DTV before analogue FTA TV ceases on 31 December 2018. The expanded Scheme is known as the DTV Starter Kit. It allows all Singaporean HDB households without a Pay TV subscription to redeem either DTV equipment with free installation, or a $100 voucher to offset the cost of purchasing selected DTV equipment.

Singaporean households that have switched over to DTV on their own are not disadvantaged in any way because they can still enjoy the DTV Starter Kit by redeeming the DTV equipment for their TV sets (including as back-up) or for their secondary TV sets (if any), as long as they meet the eligibility criteria as stated above.

Ultimately, our objective is to assist as many Singaporean households as possible to continue to enjoy FTA TV after 31 December 2018.