On the sidelines of the celebration of independence day, a new important day emerged this August, namely the second phase of the digital television “analog switch off” (ASO) plan on August 25, 2022. The second phase of ASO was carried out as a continuation of the first phase that was already underway. in April 2022. Despite various obstacles, this still gives new hope to lovers and viewers of free to air television in Indonesia.Delay FactorAs we know, the process of migrating analog television to digital or ASO has been going on for more than ten years.But it keeps getting delayed due to various reasons.Among them, first, the technological aspect.In the past, there was a change in selected technology, namely from DVB-T to DVB-T2.This, of course, greatly affected the domestic production of set top boxes (STB), which at that time had become part of the national TKDN program.However, after ten years of process, now the reason for this technology no longer needs to be mentioned as a barrier to the implementation of ASO.Second, the regulatory aspect.The lack of a strong legal basis related to broadcasting digitization is rooted in obstacles to changes to the Telecommunications Law and the Broadcasting Law.As a result, several products of the ministerial decree related to digital TV have been sued.So many administrative products have to be canceled for regulatory reasons.Alhamdulillah, with reference to the Employment Creation Act (omnibus law), there are now new regulatory references that allow for solutions and relaxation of problems related to the ASO basis in the past.Third, the business aspect.Although rarely recognized, the business aspect is the most important factor.The most prominent is the doubts of broadcasters over the changes in broadcasting business processes.For example, the emergence of new players in the broadcasting ecosystem, namely MUX/multiplexing (multiplexing) operators, raises concerns that “the already very limited revenue cake must be shared with MUX operators” through slot rentals on MUX.Indeed, the reality on the ground shows that these three factors together have delayed the migration process of Indonesian television from analog to digital (ASO).ASO Implementation RealizationAfter experiencing a long delay, the Minister of Communications and Informatics Johnny G. Plate finally made the right decision to immediately conduct ASO, cessation of analog broadcasting.This is the implementation of Indonesia's commitment to ITU, which was supposed to carry out the ASO by 17 June 2015, which was later delayed several times.Unfortunately, the first phase of ASO in April 2022, which should have been carried out for 56 service areas covering 166 regencies/cities, only realized 4 service areas with 8 regencies/cities.This was followed by the delay of the second phase of ASO, which was supposed to cover 31 service areas with 110 districts/cities.In the end, November 2, 2022, will no longer be the third stage of ASO or final ASO.This is because all ASO stages turn into multiple ASOs until 100 percent of the service area becomes digital.ASO Acceleration UrgencyFor the author, the existence of multiple ASO discourses actually inspires enthusiasm to do the opposite, namely the need for accelerated ASO, namely accelerated ASO.The first reason is that the broadcasting ecosystem has been freed from the psychological shackles of worries about business process risks and regulatory barriers.The commitment of MUX service providers (SCM, MNC Group, etc.) to donate STB to the poor has become evidence that broadcasters are ready to enter a new business model, namely digital broadcasting.The certainty of migration implementation will make them more stable in shifting from marketing on analog platforms and moving to digital platforms.The second reason, the delay in the distribution of STB to the poor is not a strong reason to delay ASO.With the number of house holdings in Indonesia as many as 68.9 million houses, of course, the 6.5 million free STB that will be donated to the poor will not have much effect on the ASO process.In fact, even in remote villages, people are familiar with satellite TV and cable TV decoders.There are also many people who have bought STB even though it is only in the on air trial stage of digital broadcasting.Surveys show that people will actually be ready to migrate once the analog is completely turned off.The last reason about the readiness of infrastructure and readiness of broadcasters to migrate is proven not always true.Almost all service areas have actually done a trial and service providers already know their business risk map.In general, they are very disturbed by the uncertainty regarding when the ASO will be carried out.Incidentally, most of the regencies/cities entering the second stage are fairly large cities.This includes cities called “Nielsen City”, which are cities used in measuring broadcasting ratings.These cities really need an accelerated ASO.RecommendationSeeing the existing developments, it is necessary to recommend to the Directorate of Broadcasting of the Ministry of Communication and Informatics in order to speed up the ASO process.The reason for the delay in providing free STB does not need to be a delay in this very important process.The distribution of free STB can even be used as part of socialization activities.Socialization about the positive aspects of digital broadcasting needs to be intensified.And let people move normally according to their ability.Finally, the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) will clearly have a new homework assignment, namely maintaining the quality of program content and digital broadcasting behavior.The increasing number of event slots in the digital broadcasting system makes KPI need to make new rules.Including the need to apply assistive technology in carrying out their duties.Congratulations to the Indonesian people who have entered a new era, namely the era of digital broadcasting.Independent!(*)*) ENDROYONO, Lecturer of the ITS multimedia telecommunications broadcasting system, was in the digital TV team of Research and Technology DiktiWatch the following interesting video:© PT Jawa Pos Multimedia Group