The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) has bowed to legal pressure from broadcaster etv over digital terrestrial TV (DTTV) regulations.
The regulator will meet today to discuss how the regulations can be amended and reopened to public comment, following an urgent application lodged by etv at the Gauteng High Court at the beginning of the month.
ICASA councillor Robert Nkuna says the meeting will also deal with how best to proceed with the court hearings. He notes the decision to amend the regulations is partially a result of etv's court application and partially because ICASA feels government's timeline for DDTV is unfair for broadcasters.
“The broadcasters do not want to be punished for failing to meet the dual-illumination period deadlines set by government,” he adds.
“There have been issues raised by government and industry, and we need to consolidate those.”
In her founding affidavit, etv chief operating officer Bronwyn Keene-Young attacked the regulations, saying they were characterised by “procedural unfairness; a failure to consider relevant information; errors of law; irrationality; unreasonableness; and acting under unlawful dictation”.
Etv is also unhappy with the fact that the regulations essentially force it into a commercial agreement with Sentech, whose tariffs are unregulated. The company is concerned about the timeframes stipulated and the possible fines if not adhered to.
The High Court is due to hear etv's urgent application on 15 September. The company would not say whether the court application would be dropped if the regulations are opened for comment again.
Govt saving money
Despite the pending legal action, Nkuna says the regulator is sympathetic to the broadcasters. He adds the regulations have come through a complicated process that includes government stipulations ruled on in 2008.
“We only started working on the regulations in October 2008, after we had seen government policy on DTTV. By November 2008, there were still no regulations, and government expected dual illumination to start then,” he adds. Actual regulations were only published in July this year.
Nkuna says the regulator cannot expect the broadcasters to be penalised if the regulations around DTTV and dual-illumination are retrospective. “The council will be meeting to clarify these issues.”
The current regulations could see broadcasters pay up to R500 000 if they do not meet the dual-illumination time frames. The analogue signal is expected to be switched off on 1 November 2011.
He says the regulator hopes to get government and industry into the same room to discuss the matter. Government wants the shortest dual-illumination period possible, since it will foot the bill for transmission and set-top boxes over that time.
At the launch of the DTTV advisory council, communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda urged the broadcasters to make the quickest possible transition, since the financial implication is expected to be heavy on government's pockets.
All or nothing
Nkuna says the regulator hopes to have the regulations amended to allow for an extended timeframe. However, he adds that a single amendment means several other aspects of the regulations will also have to change.
Despite the expected broad changes to the regulations, he says DTTV will not be significantly delayed. “The broadcasters have indicated they will be ready to go live with the commercial dual broadcast by April next year. So if it takes all of September to amend the regulations, then it still doesn't delay the migration.”
Nkuna expects to see the amended regulations soon, and he says the issues that need to be amended are relatively straightforward. “However, we need to find common ground that will be suitable for everybody. To do that, we may be forced to amend the entire set of regulations.“
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