More delays for set-top-box tender
The Department of Communications (DoC) says it will appeal a court decision to grant Etv, the SABC and free-to-air broadcasters control of conditional access in the state-sponsored set-top-boxes (STB).
The move would signal further delays regarding South Africa’s switch over from analogue, to digital terrestrial television (DTT) broadcasting, and the tender process regarding the manufacture an distribution of STBs.
The DoC said in a statement:
“The decision was taken after considering the implications of the judgment on other broadcasters, particularly potential broadcasters, in line with the Broadcasting Digital Migration Policy.
“The appeal will be lodged today. The Department is also consulting with existing broadcasters and Icasa on the role of each party in the implementation of the conditional access as per the court judgment.”
South Gauteng high court judge, CG Pretorius, had previously ruled that communications minister Dina Pule did not have power to make decisions relating to set-top box controls, with the minister previously asserting that state-owned company, Sentech, would manage those decisions.
The DoC set itself a deadline of December 2013 for the switch over, having missed several deadlines in recent years.
The latest deadline, however, is merely another target the DoC will miss, with the real deadline being the 17 June 2015 date recommended by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
In December, deputy director general of the DoC, Themba Phiri, confessed to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications that, although South Africa could launch DTT commercially by June 2013, if the department sticks to a three-year roll-out period for the whole project, the ITU deadline may be missed.
Set-top-boxes
A host of companies – including listed firms Ellies, and Altech – are vying to be a major player in the manufacture and distribution of the decoders; however, without clarity on the STB control system, production of set-top boxes can’t begin.
The tender process has, as a result, been delayed, having attracted huge interest after being opened up to international companies.
An STB is a decoder-like box that will allow TV viewers to use their existing analogue TV sets to receive the new DVB-T2 digital TV signal. This is set to replace South Africa’s aging analogue terrestrial broadcasting standard.
It is believed that as many as 11 million households would need a decoder in order to keep up with the new digital viewing standard, with the state saying it would subsidise up to 70% of the cost of the boxes for approximately five million homes.
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