TV-on-the-go must be licensed

By Christelle du Toit, ITWeb senior journalist

Johannesburg, 01 Aug 2007

Users of mobile or PC-based television services must possess a valid TV licence.

This is according to South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) spokesman Kaizer Kganyago, who says "any device designed or adapted to be capable of receiving a broadcasting television signal" requires a television licence.

TV licences cost R225 for first-time applicants and R276 per year thereafter. Organisations need a TV licence for each set they have, while households need only one licence for all TV sets in the house.

Kganyago says PCs fitted with television tuner cards and mobile phones adapted to watch live television require licences. However, "should a person already have a valid domestic TV licence for the television set in his/her household, a separate licence would not be required as the mobile handset will be covered by this licence category".

He says the SABC is already collecting licence fees on devices other than traditional television sets through retailers such as Incredible Connection. He says such retailers "are obliged by law to request a valid TV licence from a prospective purchaser before a TV tuner card may be sold to an individual".

Kganyago accedes that existing laws about new technology television-watching need to be adapted. He says amendments to broadcasting legislation are, therefore, under consideration, "including an enhanced definition of a television set which will further make provision for any new or converted technologies".

Sekgoala Sekgoala, media manager for the Independent Communications Authority of SA, confirms the regulator is in the process of looking at new legislation to cover convergence issues such as mobile and TV television and radio usage.

"In the meantime, the past regulations are still intact and applicable," says Sekgoala, confirming the SABC can indeed charge licence fees for mobile and PC "television" devices.