South Africa's digital migration delay continues

[Hanno Labuschagne]

South Africa's digital migration delay continues

South Africa's Broadcast Digital Migration (BDM) project is nearly 15 years behind schedule, with 12 ministers coming and going without completing the process.

The current Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Solly Malatsi, who has been in office since July 2024, is the 13th to give it a go.

 

[Lupus]

Its cause they still think those STBs need to be handed out.
All they have to do is switch. Then people will get it if they want to.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Its cause they still think those STBs need to be handed out.
All they have to do is switch. Then people will get it if they want to.

And those of us who don’t can stop paying for TV licenses which is probably the real reason for the delay.

 

[Lupus]

And those of us who don’t can stop paying for TV licenses which is probably the real reason for the delay.

Yup indeed, problem is most tvs have dtt functionality built in and those who watch their crap don't pay anyway.

 

[Sinbad]

Here's a little digital migration for you

UK is turning off PSTN.

That's public switched telephone network.
No more copper voice lines or analogue services.

• Landlines: Traditional analogue landline phones will need to plug into a digital router or VoIP adapter rather than a wall socket.

• Broadband: Older copper-based broadband services like ADSL and FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) are being phased out in favour of full-fibre connections.

• Connected Devices: Ancillary equipment linked to phone lines—such as burglar alarms, lift emergency phones, CCTV, and card payment terminals—must be checked and upgraded to digital compatibility

When?

31 January 2027.

 

[lexity]

Here's a little digital migration for you

UK is turning off PSTN.

That's public switched telephone network.
No more copper voice lines or analogue services.

• Landlines: Traditional analogue landline phones will need to plug into a digital router or VoIP adapter rather than a wall socket.
• Broadband: Older copper-based broadband services like ADSL and FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) are being phased out in favour of full-fibre connections.
• Connected Devices: Ancillary equipment linked to phone lines—such as burglar alarms, lift emergency phones, CCTV, and card payment terminals—must be checked and upgraded to digital compatibility

When?

31 January 2027.

Why does it have to be a case of one or the other?

Copper theft?

The UK is not SA... sadly for the digital-ONLY crowd.

The copper infrastructure has been working fantastically well in the UK for decades. No need to go to the expense and disruption to make it digital-ONLY.

Let consumers choose.

 

[EmmanuelGoldstein]

So what... what's another 15 years for the ANC... nothing..

 

[Heisenborg]

Here's a little digital migration for you

UK is turning off PSTN.

That's public switched telephone network.
No more copper voice lines or analogue services.

• Landlines: Traditional analogue landline phones will need to plug into a digital router or VoIP adapter rather than a wall socket.

• Broadband: Older copper-based broadband services like ADSL and FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) are being phased out in favour of full-fibre connections.

• Connected Devices: Ancillary equipment linked to phone lines—such as burglar alarms, lift emergency phones, CCTV, and card payment terminals—must be checked and upgraded to digital compatibility

When?

31 January 2027.

Not Africa. Not relevant

 

[dualmeister]

They can't allienate all those voters.

 

[lexity]

Here's a little digital migration for you

UK is turning off PSTN.

That's public switched telephone network.
No more copper voice lines or analogue services.

• Landlines: Traditional analogue landline phones will need to plug into a digital router or VoIP adapter rather than a wall socket.
• Broadband: Older copper-based broadband services like ADSL and FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) are being phased out in favour of full-fibre connections.
• Connected Devices: Ancillary equipment linked to phone lines—such as burglar alarms, lift emergency phones, CCTV, and card payment terminals—must be checked and upgraded to digital compatibility

When?

31 January 2027.

What are the chances SAns were the guinea pigs?

 

[Bad Ballie]

Not Africa. Not relevant

Agreed, locals in the UK didn't steal all the copper wire.

 

[lexity]

In SA the cover story, for transitioning to a totalitarian surveillance state, i.e. "to combat crime," makes the transition plausibly deniable.

In the UK it's nowhere near as easy.

UK citizens still haven't even accepted the need for a national id.

They have a bit more fight in them, than SAns. Most of them have probably read Orwell.

Today no more nude beach, tomorrow automatic deductions for eating food/feeding your pet in the wrong quantities and deactivation of your EV because you exceeded your allowed km allocation for the month.

Thinking of surviving on ground/rain water after artificial-shortages are induced? There's an eye-in-the-sky(if the one in your pocket is insufficient) for that....

 

[cat41]

In SA the cover story, for transitioning to a totalitarian surveillance state, i.e. "to combat crime," makes the transition plausibly deniable.

In the UK it's nowhere near as easy.

UK citizens still haven't even accepted the need for a national id.

They have a bit more fight in them, than SAns. Most of them have probably read Orwell.

Today no more nude beach, tomorrow automatic deductions for eating food/feeding your pet in the wrong quantities and deactivation of your EV because you exceeded your allowed km allocation for the month.

Thinking of surviving on ground/rain water after artificial-shortages are induced? There's an eye-in-the-sky(if the one in your pocket is insufficient) for that....

Hey my old friend Lexity, why so churned up again?
Who in SA is able to control the masses to that extent? They can't even keep sewage out of the streets or water working in Africa's most important city.

Maybe the UK citizenry could largely be moving into new territory with technology. People are easily sold on new ideas.

Not Africa. Not relevant

Thank you Mr. grumpy netizen policeman, but no thank you.

 

[lexity]

In SA the cover story, for transitioning to a totalitarian surveillance state, i.e. "to combat crime," makes the transition plausibly deniable.

In the UK it's nowhere near as easy.

UK citizens still haven't even accepted the need for a national id.

They have a bit more fight in them, than SAns. Most of them have probably read Orwell.

Today no more nude beach, tomorrow automatic deductions for eating food/feeding your pet in the wrong quantities and deactivation of your EV because you exceeded your allowed km allocation for the month.

Thinking of surviving on ground/rain water after artificial-shortages are induced? There's an eye-in-the-sky(if the one in your pocket is insufficient) for that....

Hey my old friend Lexity, why so churned up again?
Who in SA is able to control the masses to that extent? They can't even keep sewage out of the streets or water working in Africa's most important city.

Maybe the UK citizenry could largely be moving into new territory with technology. People are easily sold on new ideas.

Hi Mrs_G,

Nice to run into you again.

On your next walk in leafy northern Jhb suburbia..... count how many blocks you can go, before you don't run into a fancy new high-tech camera, mounted on the inside of the border of 'privately owned' property.

My guess? You can count the number on two fingers, if that.

The way they're going about it is to offer a benefit to private property owners, to feed the data captured back into a centralized db.

Boom!

And we thought it would be so difficult to roll out a totalitarian surveillance state, huh?

Tsk.