South Africa vows fast action on digital TV
July 12, 2019
By Chris Forrester
South Africa’s communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams is promising faster progress on the country’s adoption of digital TV from analogue transmission. However, this is not the first time a minister has promised rapid change only for progress to be stymied.
Addressing South Africa’s parliament, Ndabeni-Abrahams told MPs that a renewed broadcasting digital migration plan would be presented before parliament within the next 90 days.
The plan would “deal with the swift release of the high-demand spectrum needed for the roll-out of broadband and effective DTT (digital terrestrial TV) migration,” the minister confirmed.
Earlier promises have been missed and the most recent commitment has South Africa switching off analogue transmissions by July 2020, and about 5 years later than initially planned.