The state-owned provider of electronic communications network services, Sentech, is going to drive the provision of additional channels over the new digital devices being distributed as part of the country's migration from analogue television broadcasting signals to digital, the minister of communications said on Thursday.
Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said further details about the service would be communicated in the department's budget vote speech in May. The additional channels are meant to grow and diversify media content in the country.
"Given the prevalence of Smart TVs in the country, Sentech will commence a process to create a channel to carry streaming content from the current DTT/ DTH (Digital terrestrial television/ Direct-to-Home) platform," said Ntshavheni.
The department is working to meet the 30 June digital migration deadline fixed by the court in March. The initial date for the migration had been the end of March, but the court granted an extension following a challenge mounted by e.tv.
Ntshavheni said five provinces, the Free State, Northern Cape, North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, had so far been fully migrated.
She said the deferment had given the government "sufficient time to complete the installation of set-top boxes for the households who had timeously registered to receive the devices before the switch-off date".
"In the provinces where the analogue has been switched off, we have concluded the process of rearranging spectrum, giving way for frequencies to be assigned for future technology usage," she said.
The frequencies that have been occupied by broadcasters will be released to telecommunication companies, as part of the recently-concluded spectrum assignment.
Set-top boxes, the devices that allow analogue television users to migrate to Digital Terrestrial Television, are given for free to households with an income of R3 500 or less, but Ntshavheni announced that the government is now working on releasing the devices to the retail market for purchase by those who do not qualify for subsidy.
"Sentech is intensifying its capacity to ensure that all registered and qualifying households are migrated," said Ntshavheni.
Earlier this year, free-to-air broadcaster e.tv, owned by eMedia, had approached the courts to challenge the government's plan to expedite the digital TV migration process. It argued the switch-off analogue would impact its businesses and cut off millions of people who depend on free-to-air television.
Receive Fin24 writer-at-large Carol Paton's articles about the political economy, state-owned enterprises and energy sector.
Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.