https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Digital migration could be delayed for up to three years

15th January 2013

By: Natasha Odendaal

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

Font size: - +

South Africa’s migration from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT) could be delayed by three years if broadcasters and the Department of Communications (DoC) failed to fast-track a decision on conditional access control over subsidised set-top boxes (STBs).

The DoC, which was appealing the South Gauteng High Court’s decision in December to grant conditional access control to broadcasters instead of DoC-appointed Sentech, said on Tuesday that the matter needed to be dealt with urgently or the country would miss its migration deadline.

Under an agreement with the International Telecommunications Union, South Africa has until 2015 to complete the migration, after which analogue broadcasting frequencies’ exclusivity, or protection, will be lifted, resulting in signal interruptions.

A STB decoder would be required for terrestrial broadcasting transmission signals; however, the awarding of a tender for the STBs, and the subsequent manufacture and distribution, was halted until the legal matter was resolved.

Following a court-ordered meeting between the department, State-owned broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), and free-to-air broadcaster e.tv, besides others, the broadcasters agreed to submit recommendations on the continuation of the STB tender and the delivery of the STBs to the market to the DoC by January 28.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Article Enquiry

Email Article

Save Article

Feedback

To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here

Showroom

Willard
Willard

Rooted in the hearts of South Africans, combining technology and a quest for perfection to bring you a battery of peerless standing. Willard...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
The Steel Tube Export Association of South Africa
Steel Tube Export Association of South Africa

The Steel Tube Export Association of South Africa was established to develop sustainable, internationally competitive carbon steel tube and pipe...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







301

sq:0.064 1.067s - 149pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now