The Federal Telecommunications Institute has confirmed that analog television signals will be shutdown in Jalisco and six other states as of December 16.
To prepare for the switch, 400,000 small digital television sets have been given away to low-income families in Jalisco, part of 14 million being distributed nationally.
The families were selected by Sedesol, Mexico’s federal social welfare agency. Distribution of sets was halted briefly in Jalisco municipalities of La Huerta and Cihuatlan as clean up work continued in the wake of Hurricane Patricia. Owners of analog sets who prefer not to purchase a digital television will have to buy a decoder to continue watching programs. They cost between 500 and 1,000 pesos.