The country's communications authority will today inform pay-TV fledgling Super5Media that its appeal for a third extension on its licence has been granted.
The most recent extension places the company's go-to-market date out by a further six months, now only expected to be around September. Super5Media was originally meant to debut in June last year.
Last month, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) confirmed it had received yet another appeal for an extension from Super5Media. At the time, the authority noted it approved the extension, although this was dependent on certain conditions.
The authority would not divulge the details about the conditions of the latest extension - but may do so at a later stage.
Failure to launch
Super5Media has had a troubling start, with regulatory and shareholder trouble holding back its initial plans to bring a new service to local TV viewers.
In September, Super5Media requested another extension, based on the reasoning that its application for an Individual-Electronic Communications Network Service (I-ECNS) licence to self-provide had yet to be finalised by the authority. The company intends to provide its own signal distribution for its pay-TV service.
At the time, ICASA conceded it had been in the process of deliberating Super5Media's application for an I-ECNS licence, but intended to make its decision known in “a week or two”.
The authority was, therefore, confident Super5Media would launch its services well within the six-month extension period.
The company has also been the subject of media reports suggesting it had gone into liquidation.
But ICASA says that, despite what has appeared in the media, there has not been any formal communication about Super5Media going into liquidation.
However, former employees, who prefer not to be named, say it has closed down, and about 40 staff members had been retrenched. “We were given retrenchment letters from June already,” they told ITWeb last year.
Super5Media hopes to come to market with three offerings, including Internet services, IPTV and a satellite service.
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