The Department of Communications (DOC) has allocated R801.9 million over the next three years as SA migrates to digital TV.
The country is moving to digital terrestrial television from analogue, using the European DVB-T2 standard, in the biggest advancement to terrestrial broadcast since TV was launched locally in 1976.
Digital TV was meant to turn on last October, after a pilot in the Karoo, but was delayed over a court battle between etv and the department over set-top box controls.
The free-to-air broadcaster won its South Gauteng High Court bid to have broadcasters handle conditional access, which the state wants to stop grey decoders being imported, and subsidised boxes being stolen and used outside of SA.
The DOC had initially indicated it intended to appeal the decision, but has since dropped its bid and the broadcasters now need to appoint a control provider. The department aims to turn digital TV on in the middle of the year, but has conceded it is unlikely to meet the International Telecommunication Union's mid-2015 deadline.
Rolling out
According to treasury's Estimates of National Expenditure, the DOC's spending is expected to increase significantly in 2013/14 due to the allocation of additional funds to Sentech to expedite the rollout of digital terrestrial television infrastructure to ensure the project launches on time, states the document.
Some R801.9 million over the medium-term has been allocated for the broadcasting digital migration project. Of this, R202.9 million was allocated to the South African Broadcasting Corporation for the digital library and a digital playout centre.
Sentech is allocated R605.1 million over the medium-term, which includes an additional R277 million in 2013/14 for expediting the rollout of the digital terrestrial television infrastructure and R6 million to cater for ICT infrastructure for the 2014 African Nations Championship.
The state signals provider will receive R69.8 million in the 2014/15 financial year for digital infrastructure and nothing the following year as it aims to reach 100% population coverage this year. In total, Sentech's rollout is expected to cost R2.7 billion.
"The spending focus over the-medium term will be on increasing transfer payments to Sentech to continue network expansion in rolling out digital terrestrial television infrastructure in preparation for the launch of commercial digital terrestrial television. The allocations will enable Sentech to complete the rollout of the infrastructure required for the migration from analogue to digital by 2014/15," states treasury's documentation.
Transfers to Sentech increased significantly between 2009/10 and 2012/13, as funding was made available for digitisation. Additional funding of R283 million is made available to Sentech in 2013/14, R171 million of which is for the rollout of digital terrestrial television infrastructure in time for the commercial launch of digital terrestrial television, as well as R106 million for dual-illumination.
Share