The analogue TV switch-off date has once again been moved but this time because of a ruling from the Johannesburg High Court.
The ruling comes after e.tv challenged the Department and Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies on the date for switch off which would’ve been 31st March. The broadcaster argued that the switch-off deadline was unlawful and invalid. Furthermore, e.tv alleged that government had not met its constitutional obligations to provide poorer households without set-top boxes, access to free-to-air television.
On the point of government not meeting its obligations, the court found that this was not accurate and said that government had done all it could to help qualifying households.
The only thing that e.tv was seemingly successful in obtaining was a protracted deadline but even that, as News24 points out, is not ideal as it was hoping to extend the deadline further. On top of this, e.tv was ordered to pay half of Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Khumbudzo Ntshavheni’s legal costs as well as the full legal bill of respondents Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) and Vodacom.
While one of the main arguments in the delay hinges on poor households not having access to free-to-air TV when the switch-off occurs, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies has had to draw a hard line in that regard.
“It would be unreasonable to allow for a situation where an unknown variable (the unregistering households) is allowed to hold up a process that will eventually be of benefit to all citizens and where government must meet its international obligations. To avoiding missing households, the Minister urges the SaveFreeToAirTV Coalition to redirect its energies towards mobilising the qualifying households to register for government assistance,” the department said in a statement.
The department has said that, by 30th June 2022, it will provide over 500 000 set-top boxes to households which registered by the deadline of 31st October 2021. It will also commit to provide over 260 000 set-top boxes to households that registered between 31st October 2021 and 10th March 2022. Those who registered after the first deadline should receive set top boxes by September this year.
ICASA has also noted the extension of the deadline. The authority has said that it will use the extension as a transition period.
“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 17th March 2022, shall only commence on 1st July 2022,” ICASA said in a media statement.
While we can finally see the end of digital migration in sight, we’re not getting too excited as this process has been delayed so often, we can’t actually remember off the top of our heads when it began.
[Image – CC 0 Pixabay]
