The city of Coulommiers in Seine-et-Marne will today (February 4) become the first all-digital region in France. During an official ceremony, two ministers, Christine Albanel, minister of culture and communication, and Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, secretary of state of the digital economy, together with CSA president Michel Boyon, will switch off the analogue signal.
A second pilot will take place in early May in Kaysersberg (departement of Haut-Rhin), a border community near Germany, and on November 18 the city of Cherbourg and the areas of North-Cotentin, with nearly 200,000 viewers, will also see analogue switch-off.
Following these pilot areas, the ASO schedule will officially start in 2010, region by region. The process will be completed on November 30, 2011.