The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) will hold public hearings at the end of January to decide the fate of troubled broadcast start-up Super5Media.
In October, the authority said it would hold public hearings to help it decide whether it should grant the pay-TV entrant a fourth extension on its licence.
However, Super5 amended its application for extension and the ICASA council met yesterday to deliberate.
“The amendment of the application has been accepted, but the public hearings are going to happen. That decision remains the same,” says ICASA spokesperson Paseka Maleka.
He adds that the council decided to hold the public hearings toward the end of January.
The authority says no detail can be given on what was amended, or which part of the application, because it's confidential.
Over-extended
On 2 August, Super5 requested an extension for a further six months after failing to become operational in June 2010, and then on extension, in September 2010.
In September, the company requested another extension, based on the reasoning that its application for an Individual-Electronic Communications Network Service licence to self-provide had yet to be finalised by the authority.
Super5Media intends to provide its own signal distribution for its pay-TV service. In March, the company was granted another six-month extension by the authority. This pushed its go-live date to around September this year, but this did not materialise.
Ducks please
The authority previously said the latest application for extension by Super5 was neither granted nor refused.
“Let's hear what the public says. As ICASA, we want to communicate. We are just a catalyst and cannot act on our verdict alone,” says ICASA chairman Stephen Mncube.
“We are not trying to punish people, but we don't just give licences for giving licences.”
He explains that applying for the licence was supposed to have meant Super5 had all its plans in place and solid financing.
“If you just write a beautiful proposal and don't have your ducks in a row, it denies the opportunity to others who want the licence.”
ITWeb was unable to contact Super5Media for comment at the time of publication.
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