South Africa’s full migration from analogue broadcasting services to digital has been delayed by three months.

The Johannesburg High Court, dismissing the applications of e.tv and other intervening parties with costs, deferred the analogue switch-off from the March 31 deadline to June 30.

The move has been welcomed by Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, who said that the deferment would provide government sufficient time to complete the installations of set top boxes (STBs) for registered households.

“The new date coincides with the date the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) had determined and announced as the end of the transition period for the broadcasting services and signal distributors to vacate the 800 MHz and 700 MHz bands,” she said.

Icasa on Monday resolved that April 1 to June 30 will constitute a transitional period for broadcasting service licensees and signal distributors to ensure a seamless transition process for the switch-off of the remaining analogue transmitters.

The authority said in a statement prior to the High Court judgment that it was mindful that the frequency bands, subject to the analogue switch-off date, are part of the radio frequency spectrum bands licensed by it under the provisional spectrum licensing regime, which started on December 1, and ends on June 30.

The 700 MHz and 800 MHz radio frequency bands were also part of the radio frequency spectrum bands successfully auctioned by Icasa in March.

“To allow licensees adequate time to vacate the frequencies provisionally assigned to them, and in accordance with provisional spectrum licensing regime, the authority wishes to point out that the validity period of the spectrum licences to be issued pursuant to the successful auction concluded on March 17, shall only commence on July 1,” said Icasa chairperson Dr Keabetswe Modimoeng.

Meanwhile, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) remains committed to ensure that the 507 251 households that had registered by October 31, 2021, are connected by no later than June 30, 2022, and the 260 868 households that registered between October 31 and March 10 are connected to their STBs by September 30.

The DCDT reiterates that of the 14-million television-watching households in the country, 11.5-million have self-migrated as they watch television through satellite and will therefore not be affected by the analogue switch off.