Those planning to receive TV on their mobile devices or PCs using broadband technology will not have to pay a TV licence fee for this.
This is because current legislation does not provide for the payment of licence fees for TV broadcasts sent via broadband, say experts.
However, viewers watching TV on PCs adapted with tuner cards are required to pay licence fees.
According to Lara Kantor, South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) GM of policy and regulatory affairs, a TV set is any device designed or adapted to be capable of receiving a broadcast TV signal. This includes a PC fitted with a TV tuner card as well as the tuner card itself, Kantor says.
Aynon Doyle, acting GM of broadcasting at the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), notes that the meaning of a TV set is not defined in the current Broadcasting Act.
"This was probably an oversight as there is a good all-encompassing definition in the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) Act," he says.
Doyle notes that the court, based upon the principles of interpretation of statutes, might take on board the plain English meaning of a TV set. According to the Compact Oxford Dictionary, a TV set is "a device with a screen for receiving television signals".
He says that both the IBA Act and dictionary versions allow scope for any device with a screen and capable of receiving broadcasting signals to be viewed as being a TV set.
However, where the PC or mobile phone is receiving the same TV programming via broadband, the devices would not be regarded as TV sets, as the current definition of broadcasting service in the Broadcasting Act specifically excludes a service that makes programmes available on demand on a point-to-point basis, including a dialup service, Doyle says.
Nonetheless, Kantor says the SABC does not foresee that Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) and mobile devices would have an impact on the SABC`s TV licence revenue. She does, however, note that the SABC would pursue the necessary legislative changes with the Department of Communications and Parliament should the current definition need to be widened in future to take care of changes in technology.
"The object being to ensure that if a broadcast television signal is received, by any means, the person using or having in his possession such receiving device will be liable for payment of TV licence fees," she says.
When the Broadcasting Act repealed the IBA Act, one of the provisions that were to be reviewed was the use of licence fees to generate revenue so the SABC could fulfil its public broadcasting mandate. However, an alternative means has not been presented yet and the issue is under review by the Department of Communications. The department was unable to respond to enquiries at the time of publication.
MyADSL founder Rudolph Muller maintains that viewers accessing TV using a tuner card should not have to pay a TV licence, and is polling his readers on the issue.
At the time of publication, 66% of MyADSL subscribers felt they should not have to pay for TV.
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