The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies today kicked-off the phased analogue switch-off in the Free State’s Ladybrand and surrounding towns.
This comes on the back of the recently-made pronouncement around the country’s years-long delayed digital migration project.
During the State of the Nation Address in February, president Cyril Ramaphosa said government would “begin the phased switch-off of the analogue TV transmitters from next month [March]”.
The communications ministry, which is the custodian of the digital migration project, says the switch-off of analogue TV transmitters is under way, having started on Monday, 15 March, in Boesmanskop and surrounding towns in the Xhariep District Municipality in the Free State province.
It notes the switch-off in each province will be systematic and in phases, moving from one analogue transmitter coverage area to the other, until all district municipalities within the province are completed.
“The department is collaborating with provincial governments and district municipalities to recruit local installers of government-subsided decoders in order to accelerate the implementation of the broadcasting digital migration.”
Major kerfuffle
Even though government has identified the Broadcasting Digital Migration programme as a key project to digitally improve the lives of South African citizens, the switch from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT) has been one big kerfuffle.
The process has over the years, been characterised by numerous controversies, legal squabbles over the standards of government-subsidised set-top boxes (STBs) and corruption allegations relating to the procurement process of STBs. Leadership changes within the department have also not improved matters.
Like many other countries, the South African government committed to the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU's) call for all nations to switch to DTT, but missed the June 2015 deadline to complete the full switchover. The ITU has called on nations to migrate to digital to allow radio frequency spectrum to be freed up for mobile broadband services.
After missing the June 2015 deadline, government made numerous attempts to give the project some legs but without success.
The communications department, however, says the current switch-off of analogue TV transmitters comes on the back of a reviewed implementation process initiated by minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, with the aim of eliminating inefficiencies and bottlenecks.
According to the department, as part of the review, the department has since also roped-in signal distributor Sentech, to assist with the management of decoder installations.
“As it is in the interest of the country that the broadcasting digital migration is completed to free up much-needed spectrum, we are redoubling our efforts to accelerate the project,” says Ndabeni-Abrahams.
The delay in ensuring households using analogue TVs switch to digital signals has had adverse effects on regulator the Independent Communications Authority of SA’s (ICASA’s) plans to license much-needed high-demand spectrum.
Among the spectrum frequencies that ICASA wants to auction are the 700MHz and 800MHz bands, which are currently occupied by the analogue broadcast signals.
The release of spectrum will greatly improve connectivity within South Africa and spur the digitalisation of economic activities, says the department.
"We have adopted an inclusive approach to educate the public about the digital migration project and the options available to consumers, including those television viewing households that do not qualify for the government-subsidised set-top-boxes,” adds Ndabeni-Abrahams.
Millions more to go
Last month, ITWeb reported that over three million South African households still need to migrate to DTT.
The South African government has committed to subsidise digital migration resources for households that depend on social grants and those with an income of less than R3 200. These resources include STBs, which are required to convert digital broadcasting signals on analogue TV sets.
The ministry says TV viewing households that do not qualify for fully-subsidised government decoders – those that have a monthly income above the stipulated threshold of R3 200 – have an option of buying new integrated digital television (IDTV) sets that have the DTT decoding capability built-in.
Further, existing commercial satellite decoders are considered suitable as a migration alternative to subsidised decoders and IDTVs, providing more choice for consumers.
According to the communications ministry, local television manufacturers have made these IDTV sets and a variety of decoder products available through major retail outlets across the country.
In terms of project timeline estimates, Ndabeni-Abrahams’s department has targeted the end of March 2022 to complete the country’s digital migration.
It notes that further “granular” details for planning and implementation of the project will be made available as it progresses.
- Free State – March 2021
- Northern Cape – April 2021
- North West – May 2021
- Mpumalanga – May 2021
- Eastern Cape – May 2021
- KwaZulu-Natal – July 2021
- Western Cape – November 2021
- Limpopo – December 2021
- Gauteng – January 2022
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