In South Africa, Communications Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has set a new analogue switch-off date for terrestrial television broadcasting for 31 March 2023.
The minister declared recently that enough had been done to ensure set-top boxes are rolled out to indigent households under a government subsidy scheme.
Ntshavheni’s new analogue switch-off (ASO) date comes a year after she had initially wanted to terminate analogue terrestrial broadcasts in South Africa and is eight years beyond the date the country committed to the International Telecommunication Union, an agency of the United Nations, to get the job done.
Industry experts have indicated that the migration from analogue to digital TV is critical to ensuring mobile operators get access to spectrum suitable for deploying broadband services.
Earlier this year, Ntshavheni lost a high-stakes battle in the constitutional court with free-to-air broadcaster e.tv over her plans to conclude ASO. The apex court set aside a decision by the high court that analogue broadcasts could be switched off by end-June.
The country’s apex court ruled that the minister had to consult with affected industry players before setting a new date for ASO, something she promised she would do.
Recently, Ntshavheni said she has written to affected industry stakeholders advising them about the new switch-off date and asked them to provide input on the decision by no later than 27 January. The minister said her department expects to conclude the installation of the remaining set-top boxes in indigent households within the next three months.
Commenting on the minister’s new ASO date, e.tv CEO Khalik Sherrif said that the company is “rather alarmed at how out of kilter the minister is with what is happening on the ground”.
“The Minister is out of kilter with the stakeholders that discuss this matter regularly. In addition, we have provided research to the minister on what is happening on the ground, which has been ignored,” Sherrif said.
