Digital TV launch delayed

The South African Minister of Communications, Dina Pule, revealed at a press briefing today (24 January 2012) that the public launch date of digital terrestrial television (DTT) in South Africa will be pushed back.

Previously the Department of Communications (DoC) under former minister Roy Padayachie set the DTT switch-on date for April 2012.

Pule said today that indications are the public launch could only happen from Q3 2012. Pule said that this is only an indication, and may be revised as the digital migration progresses.

The delay in switch-on will affect the cut-off date, Pule said.

She added that they are going to work with the information and communication technology industry and try their best to ensure that “it doesn’t go way beyond the expected time.”

The International Telecommunication Union has set the worldwide cut-off of analogue broadcasting for 17 June 2015.

This does not mean that all analogue transmission must cease by that time, but the guideline is meant to guard against negative effects such as signal interference.