The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) yesterday began distributing a new lot of 3.98 million digital TV subsidy coupons.

This lot kicked off the second phase of subsidy coupon distribution, running through March 1. The NBTC already distributed 13.6 million coupons in the first phase and 8.78 million coupons have been redeemed.

The 3.98 million coupons worth 690 baht each are being sent to target households via Thailand Post and can be redeemed from March 2 to Sept 2.

Secretary-general Takorn Tantasith said the second phase of subsidy coupon distribution will help facilitate the country’s digital TV transition and help digital TV operators expand their broadcast coverage.

Last year, many digital TV operators complained that their operations generated lower-than-expected revenue because of coupon distribution delays.

There are four household categories eligible for the new coupons in this round.

The first category is 1.17 million households that did not receive coupons during previous distributions. The second is 407,162 households which were registered after Sept 16, 2014. The third is 1.87 million households that have no heads of household for both permanent and temporary housing registrations. The fourth is 531,531 families that have temporary housing registrations with heads of households.

Coupon holders can use them to redeem digital TV set-top boxes or get a discount to buy hybrid set-top boxes or TVs that can receive digital TV signals. The coupon redemption can be done at retail shops participating in the NBTC’s subsidy coupon distribution scheme, such as Tesco Lotus and 7-Eleven.

People can also register to redeem their coupons at Thailand Post branches.

[“source-smallbiztrends”]