Following the decision to waive the TV licence requirement to register for subsidised set-top boxes (STBs), residents in the village of Makuleke in Limpopo began their registration process on Friday.
As SA migrates from analogue TV-viewing, the Department of Communications (DOC) has prioritised border-lying areas to be the first to migrate to digital terrestrial television (DTT).
Makuleke in Limpopo joins areas like Tiyani village, the Square Kilometre Array and Kai Garib municipality in the Northern Cape to start the STB registration process.
Speaking at the public awareness campaign in Makuleke, DOC minister Faith Muthambi said good progress is being made in the migration of broadcasting services from analogue to digital TV.
"The migration project is well on its way. Since the beginning of this year we have met numerous stakeholders including community members, traditional authorities and community media to inform them about the progress made and also get their input on how best we can implement this important project. We are taking advice on board, and the omission of TV licences as a requirements shows we are alert and responsive to challenges that may hinder the migration project," said Muthambi.
During her recent budget speech vote in Parliament, Muthambi admitted there has been slow registration take-up by citizens due to the TV licence requirement. As a result, the department resolved to omit the TV licence requirement for subsidised digital migration decoders.
Since this omission, the number of households registering for the subsidised set-top boxes has risen significantly, according to the department.
Last month, the DOC said more than 14 000 qualifying TV-owning households have registered to receive free STBs since the registration process began in October 2015.
Government will provide free STBs to five million poor TV-owning households across the country.
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