The official opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA), is set to pose questions to communications minister Dina Pule over SA's move to digital television.
SA is moving to digital terrestrial television (DTT) using the upgraded European DVB-T2 standard, and is set to launch the new signal in September, with the aim of turning off the outdated analogue broadcast within two years of launch.
Last week, Cabinet approved the set-top box manufacturing sector strategy and the ownership support roll-out framework for set-top boxes (STBs) for poor households.
Government has set aside R2.45 billion to subsidise 70% of the cost of a decoder for about five million households.
Cabinet also announced it would pay the full cost of outdoor and indoor antennae, and the installation costs associated with rolling out digital signals.
Cost questions
The DA's shadow minister of communications, Marian Shinn, is set to ask for the release of the set-top box manufacturing strategy. She will also ask for the implementation plan and costs to establish the industry.
Shinn also wants the minister to make public a final business plan, and associated costs, of digital migration, with details of each DOC entity's requested - and allocated - budgetary requirements to deliver digital television on time.
“The South African Broadcasting Corporation and signal distributor Sentech have told government that they have insufficient budgeted funds to deliver DTT on time, so it is unlikely poor households will have any digital signals to receive via their subsidised aerials and STBs by the end of next year,” argues Shinn.
Last week, Pule said the shortfall of migration for the broadcaster and Sentech was between R1.7 billion and R1.9 billion. She said additional funds had been requested from treasury.
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