Pretoria - Communications Minister Faith Muthambi’s visit to the Northern Cape on Friday will give her insight into the challenges and solutions needed in the first batch of subsidised set top boxes (STBs), which she saw installed in the area last December.
“Our government’s plans to roll-out its digital terrestrial television (DTT) commitments gained some visible traction when we installed the first batch of STBs, and it is our view that our visit will give us an insight into the practical solutions and challenges involved in the process of switching off the analogue signal,” said the Minister.
About 76% TV viewing households have registered for government subsidised STBs in the Northern Cape. Since the beginning of the registration process on 1 October 2015, the uptake of STBs is steadily gaining traction. The registration process for these devices has now spread to other provinces.
Minister Muthambi said: “The community around the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) area is now enjoying high-definition and good quality television, thanks to the broadcasting digital migration project.
“As the department, we don’t just install boxes and leave. We also provide post-installation services to ensure that people are satisfied with the devices and the new offering. This is one of the requirements for this project.”
In December last year, Minister Muthambi installed the first batch of STBs for poor TV-owning households in the SKA communities of Keimoes and Kai Garib, making them the first South Africans to experience DTT in the country.
The SKA area in the Northern Cape was identified as the place where DTT will start. DTT took another step forward last month when the country entered the dual illumination phase.
Dual illumination (simulcast) is the period when the new digital television signal and the old analogue signal are transmitted at the same time.
The Minister said this period further seeks to ensure that all citizens have ample time to install the STBs required to receive digital television transmissions.
She said at the end of the dual illumination period, all analogue television broadcasts will stop. - SAnews.gov.za
