President Cyril Ramaphosa says digital migration will enable a massive leap forward in South Africa’s technological development.
For poor households that are currently using an old analogue television (TV) set, government is providing subsidised set-top boxes (STBs) to help them make this switch, adds Ramaphosa.
“Over the last year, the process of switching from analogue to digital broadcasting has gathered pace and will soon be completed,” he states. “Digital migration will also free up valuable radio frequency spectrum currently used by broadcasters to be used in the provision of mobile broadband services and other applications.
“The switch to digital improves the TV watching experience, with many more channels and better quality picture and sound.”
The president’s assertions come as SA plans to switch off analogue TV signals on 31 March, marking the end of dual-illumination in the country.
Ramaphosa previously decried the years-long delay in the switch from analogue to digital TV transmission, saying it has held back the economy’s technological development.
After missing the International Telecommunication Union-mandated June 2015 migration deadline, government made numerous attempts to expedite the Broadcast Digital Migration (BDM) programme.
However, there have been many obstacles along the way, with the latest being the legal tussle with broadcaster eMedia, which has approached the courts to challenge government’s plan to expedite the BDM process.
eMedia, the parent company of Etv and Openview, believes the move to switch off analogue signals will kill the businesses of free-to-air broadcasters.
In addition, civil society coalition #SaveFreeTV is campaigning for government to delay the analogue switch-off, on the grounds that the public was not adequately educated about digital migration.
It also claimed that once SA completely migrates from analogue to digital TV viewing, millions of households, including those in marginalised communities, will be disconnected from free-to-air TV, losing access to vital news, information and education.
Appearing before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications last week, communications minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni tried to quell fears that “millions” of South African households will be left in the dark.
She told the committee that #SaveFreeTV is peddling misinformation and causing widespread panic in the country.
Ntshavheni stated: “There is no need for South Africans to panic; everybody that we've committed to connect by end of March, as the analogue switch-off date has been determined by the minister, will be connected.
“Those that we said we'll connect after the analogue switch-off date, those who have applied after 31 October 2021, we will do so in three to six months of that switch-off.”
Government has undertaken to assist indigent households, who apply for assistance, with STBs, which are required to convert digital broadcasting signals on analogue TV sets. Qualifying households − those with an income of R3 500 per month or less – are required to register for these devices at their nearest SA Post Office branch.
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