Rustenburg – Residents of the North West province say they are ready to enjoy the high quality picture and sound on television that comes with the switch from analogue to digital broadcasting.
“As a province, we are already feeling the digital migration fever… We are ready not only to participate and support but to lead the process to ensure a successful broadcasting digital migration. Our people are ready to enjoy enhanced picture and sound quality. With digital migration, we know that our people will also be empowered in terms of entrepreneurship and we are fully part of this programme because there would also be development and growth in terms of skills.
“Most importantly, the digital revolution will extend learning platforms as currently there are barriers in that our people are still unable to access some of the free-to-air television channels or radio stations,” said North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo.
He was speaking to SAnews during the digital migration awareness campaign in Rustenburg on Saturday, where Communications Minister Faith Muthambi spoke to residents about the move to digital terrestrial television (DTT).
The country is preparing to migrate from analogue to digital broadcasting. In order to receive digital signals on an ordinary analogue TV set, viewers will need set-top boxes (STBs) or digital-enabled television sets to decode signals.
Community members who came to Saturday’s information session were clued up on digital broadcasting. Minister Muthambi gave them an opportunity to ask questions to get clarity on issues they don’t understand about the digital programme.
Residents wanted to know if they will need to pay a subscription fee every month; does the migration only affect the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and will they need a TV licence to qualify for the government subsidised STB.
“There will be no monthly subscription costs to receive the fee-to air services offered by SABC and other broadcasters. However, as prescribed in the Broadcasting Act 4 of 1999, you will still have to continue paying your TV licence.
“As a caring government, we’ve developed a qualifying criteria for free STBs, where all applicants must prove that they are South African citizens, that their household income is R3 200 (or less) and they should have a valid TV licence.
“As government, we will distribute five million free STBs to poor TV-owning households. There is no monthly subscription for STBs, even for those who can afford to buy one. It will be a once-off cost,” Minister Muthambi said.
The Minister also explained that depending on the geographical factors in signal distribution, the terrestrial signal will not be able to cover 100% of the population.
“Certain areas or regions like the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) communities of Keimoes and Kai Garib in the Northern Cape will receive the digital signal via Direct to Home (DTH) satellite transmission.
“In fact, it is only 16% of our population who will receive the digital signal via DTH, while the remaining percentage will use STBs,” she said.
DTH refers to the broadcasting of the digital television signal via satellite. DTH will be used in areas where the terrestrial television signal is very poor or non-existent.
Minister Muthambi said digital migration will affect all the existing broadcasters in the country, including the SABC.
STBs
Minister Muthambi has to institute a formal investigation into the procurement of STBs by the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA). USAASA has appointed a panel of 26 manufacturers to produce DTT and DTH STBs, antennas and satellite dishes.
The agency placed orders for STBs with three manufacturers (Bua Africa, CZ Electronics and Leratadima) during the month of August 2015. The production of STBs is in progress and the Minister will announce the date when the boxes will be available in the market.
With this consumer awareness campaign, the Minister has visited Limpopo, the Northern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga to inform citizens about what digital migration is and how the move from analogue broadcasting to DTT will improve what TV has to offer. - SAnews.gov.za
