Government says digital migration is steadily gaining momentum and minister of communications and digital technologies Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams will on Monday switch-off analogue television broadcast services in the Free State.
The minister will be in the province to commemorate World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, an occasion she will use to switch of analogue in Bethlehem, Dihlabeng local municipality.
The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies says Bethlehem is the penultimate high-power analogue site to be switched off in the Free State, with Bloemfontein as the final one in the province.
“So far, 16 analogue transmitters have been switched off since March 2021 in the Free State. An additional four low-power secondary sites linked to Bethlehem will also be switched off on the day.
“The analogue switch-off in the Free State is continuing, simultaneously with the switch-off in the Northern Cape Province,” says the department.
The implementation of SA’s digital terrestrial TV has been painstakingly slow, with controversies and department leadership changes bogging down the process even further.
The country missed the June 2015 deadline to complete the full switchover, after the International Telecommunication Union called on nations to migrate to digital to allow radio frequency spectrum to be freed up for mobile broadband services.
Nonetheless, the department says, the work of switching off analogue transmitters as part of government’s digital migration project is ongoing.
This is, it says, in line with president Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement during the State of the Nation Address that the phased switch-off of analogue TV transmitters would begin in March.
“It is anticipated that this process, which will be done province-by-province, will be completed by the end of March 2022.”
Ndabeni-Abrahams lauded broadcasters and local electronic manufacturers for their cooperation in implementing key targets of the digital migration project.
During her visit to the Free State next week, the minister is also expected to visit SA Connect project sites.
She will test the speed and functionality of broadband connectivity that provides Internet access to learners by remotely connecting from a public library in Bethlehem to a school in Phuthaditjhaba in QwaQwa, located 90km from Bethlehem.
According to the department: “To date, 970 government facilities, including hospitals, clinics and schools, are connected to the National Health Insurance database in eight district municipalities across seven provinces.
“One of the most important government objectives is expanding broadband access, and the conclusion of digital migration is an important link in achieving this goal. The conclusion of digital migration will further free up valuable spectrum and thus enable widespread availability of broadband for public and private use.”
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