Advanced Television

South Africa DSO hindered by STB fiasco

February 3, 2025

By Chris Forrester

South Africa is due to end transmissions of analogue TV signals by March 31st. This much-delayed event looks like it will again be in jeopardy.

Local South Africa press is quoting contractors responsible for installing new digital set-top boxes saying that the switch off date is in disarray because of a shortage of boxes and installation fees which are too low, plus the theft of stocks of approved adaptors. Separately there’s a legal challenge running from eMEDIA claiming that the switch-off will “deprive millions of South Africans access to television”.

As to complaints over payments, one contractor is quoted as saying: “The contract and quality assurance rules stipulate that payments will be made in two weeks. But we have never experienced that – no one has ever been paid on time. Some installers have not been paid in two years.”

Installers say that the rate back in 2016 for an install was Rand 650 (about €34). At the same time pay-TV operator MultiChoice was paying about Rand 800 (€41.50). But when Sentech, the nation’s transmission company, inherited the task of supplying and installing suitable digital set-top boxes, the rate per install fell to R250, although this rose over time to today’s R391.

The consensus is that the March 31st date is very much in doubt for at least an outstanding 220,000 households.

Categories: Articles, Broadcast, DSO

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