Navarro Arbelo has distinguished himself in the narration of world, Pan American and Central Caribbean volleyball, athletics, basketball and cycling competitions, among others.

He baptized the generation of the women’s volleyball team that won almost everything during the nineties as the Spectacular Morenas del Caribe.

Other recognitions that he has received are the Abelardo Raidi Lifetime Achievement Award, granted by the International Sports Press Association, and the Sports Lifetime Achievement Award, granted by the Union of Cuban Journalists (UPEC).

According to the schedule for the gradual transition from analogue to digital television (DTV) broadcasting in Cuba, the so-called “partial blackout” will begin it in July 2018. The first stage will cover Isla de la Juventud special municipality and five municipalities of Sancti Spíritus: La Sierpe, Jatibonico, Taguasco, Cabaiguán and the provincial capital.

As Grisel Reyes León, president of the Information Technology and Communications Business Group (GEIC), told Granma, the first analog channel to be switched off will be the Canal Educativo (Educational Channel), and this will imply its program contents being broadcast on other channels, both analog and digital.

We know that this is a sensitive process, especially for those who have not yet been able to acquire the digital receiving devices, and that is why actions will be accompanied by a strategy to always protect the population, Reyes León emphasized. In this regard, she added, the state will ensure that all analogue televisions in educational and health centers are replaced by digital television sets or provided with DTV receivers.

Likewise, Reyes León explained that the sale of DTV box receivers and hybrid televisions is being promoted in hard currency stores in the municipalities where the partial blackout will begin. The idea is that those citizens who have the means to, can immediately purchase these items, while the case of those with lower purchasing power will be reviewed to offer them the option to buy such devices on credit.

She also clarified that those people already identified by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and receiving benefits will be protected, as they will be provided with DTV box receivers.

“The intention is to gradually progress and incorporate other provinces and municipalities, and it is expected that within three years there will be 100% DTV coverage in the national territory. However, the partial blackout will be carried out in stages and will also depend on the production capacity of the national industry and the economic and financial reality of the country,” Reyes León noted.

The transition to DTV will not only offer more broadcasting features and functionalities, but also influence other aspects of the computerization of society. For example, transmitters currently used to provide the analog signal once freed up will be available to Cuba’s telecommunications operator, Etecsa, to implement 4G for mobile phones resulting in a better broadband connection, Reyes León concluded.

(Granma)

President of the Councils of State and Ministers

Havana, May 24, 2017

Year 59 of the Revolution

Esteemed workers of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television:

On a day like today, 55 years ago, the Revolutionary government made the decision to create what was at that time the Cuban Institute of Radio Broadcasting, to confront the slander campaign underway to sully the example of sovereignty, justice, and dignity that Cuba represented for the peoples of the world.

With the honorable predecessor that was the guerilla station Radio Rebelde, the nascent institution delivered Fidel’s words and ideas throughout the entire nation, and broadcast them farther afield beyond our borders.

Five decades later, and facing a panorama as difficult as that of those first years, at a time when our enemies’ weapons of informational and cultural domination are increasingly sophisticated, the efforts, creativity, and revolutionary commitment of workers at the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television continue to be indispensable.

I congratulate you all on this new anniversary, which should serve as motivation to continue putting your effort and talent at the disposition of our people.

A strong embrace,

Raúl Castro Ruz