The Department of Communications (DOC) says it had "meaningful" engagements with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), etv and other free-to-air broadcasters this week, as the second round of interactions came to an end.
The department is meeting with broadcasters in a bid to fast-track digital terrestrial TV, after it recently decided to appeal a South Gauteng High Court judgement, which found the DOC had erred in selecting Sentech to handle conditional access controls on set-top boxes (STBs).
The ruling, handed down late last year, followed etv's court challenge in which it argued the minister did not have the authority to select Sentech to handle conditional access. The controls are meant to ensure boxes stolen in SA cannot be used and stop grey decoders from coming into SA.
Commentators lashed out at the department for its decision to appeal the ruling, as this could see the matter drag through the courts, delaying turn-on even longer. SA was meant to turn on digital TV last month, after a successful pilot in the Karoo, but the court bid meant it could not issue tenders for the manufacture of about five million STBs.
Moving forward
The DOC has been meeting with broadcasters "to review the options available to fast-tracking the implementation" of digital TV. The meeting follows one held on 14 January, which considered the implications of the court order.
The court found broadcasters have the right to control conditional access in subsidised STBs, subject to the Independent Communications Authority of SA's authority.
The earlier meeting also looked at finding ways that will deliver STBs to the market and create jobs. Among the proposals the parties are considering are ways of ensuring the STB manufacturing tender is finalised without delay.
However, after the initial gathering, etv hit back at the department and said it had used the meetings to restate its original position and that etv's proposed solutions have not been considered.
Broadcasters have now made independent recommendations to the DOC, which are being reviewed before a way forward is determined. "The DOC is pleased with the level of engagement from all the parties and the importance they attached to ensuring that [digital terrestrial television] avoids unnecessary delays."
The department says it "remains committed to engaging the industry".
"Etv hopes that the solutions, which will be presented to the ministry by the SABC and etv, will be taken seriously so that the process can get back on track without further litigation and inevitable delays," says the broadcaster.
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