South Africa's digital TV deadlines - All the broken promises

Hanno Labuschagne

Journalist
Staff member
Joined
Sep 2, 2019
Messages
5,600
Reaction score
3,889
South Africa's digital TV deadlines - All the broken promises

South Africa's transition to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) has been a dismal and costly affair, characterised by the government's ineptitude and inability to meet multiple deadlines.

Digital migration is regarded as an essential step towards broadband growth in South Africa, as the process will open up of valuable frequency spectrum in the lower ranges.

Switching analogue television broadcasts to digital signals would free up spectrum and allow mobile operators and other service providers to deliver better and more affordable broadband connectivity in these bands.
 
Looking forward to DTT... so I don't have to pay SABC TV licenses - can't receive the signal on my old TV.
 
Looking forward to DTT... so I don't have to pay SABC TV licenses - can't receive the signal on my old TV.

DTT has been around since 2008.

You just need a modern TV with a digital tuner or a set-top box to decode the digital signal.
 
DTT has been around since 2008.

You just need a modern TV with a digital tuner or a set-top box to decode the digital signal.
If I don't get a set-top-box then I don't have to pay SABC.

TV works fine with Netflix
 
Cancel it all, and pump the money into COVID and vaccines. 99.9% of the poor people I see in the townships have DSTV dishes so this is a pointless endeavor.
 
DTT has been around since 2008.

You just need a modern TV with a digital tuner or a set-top box to decode the digital signal.
Yup.

The joke is ALL they have to do is sort out any restrictions on TV manufacturers to equip ALL new TVs with tuners (if there are still any restrictions), give away the stockpile of decoders to all those registered with SASSA,
and then announce the switch off one month later. Problem gone.

Edit:/

Subpoena myBB for access to its entire database and charge every one of the motherf*kers without a TV licence will be a bonus.
 
Last edited:
Wow, 20 years already. Even other African countries did a better job. Yunus Carrim was the only one who got anywhere but was worked out by corruption.
 
Looking forward to DTT... so I don't have to pay SABC TV licenses - can't receive the signal on my old TV.
It won't disappear, unless they change the legislation. They'll just charge for receiving the new signal.
 
Looking forward to DTT... so I don't have to pay SABC TV licenses - can't receive the signal on my old TV.
You will still have to pay. The law says you have a TV you must pay. I have not paid for years, every time they contact me I send them the URL for last tax payer bail out and say See attached POP. Or ask them for debit order form and then ask them if VBS bank is ok for Debit Order payment ......
 
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter