The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

Neither the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) nor Sentech have been allocated sufficient funds for the roll-out of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT).

This was revealed in a meeting of the Portfolio Committee for Communications yesterday.

The SABC requires R7.36 billion for the roll out of DTT. But the current budget allocation for DTT is only R138 million, effectively creating a shortfall of R7.2 billion. The Sentech budget shortfall for DTT is R1.29 billion.

DTT will be the end result of a migration of our country’s broadcasting system from analogue to digital broadcast transmission technology. Sentech is a state-owned enterprise tasked with providing broadcasting signal distribution. As the public broadcaster, the SABC will be the public interface of the DTT process.

I will therefore be submitting parliamentary questions to Minister Pule asking whether additional funding will be allocated to the SABC and Sentech by her Department to ensure the timely roll out of DTT.

For a country to make the transition from analogue to digital, two important deadlines need to be met. The first is the deadline by when digital television signals are launched, while the second is the date on which analogue television is turned off permanently.

As a signatory to the International Telecommunication Union, South Africa has committed to meeting the June 2015 global analogue switch-off date.

This migration to DTT will be beneficial to all South Africans and specifically low-income households that do not have access to pay television.

Key benefits include:

Enabling rural communities to have better access to television signals as a result of DTT’s increased transmission capacity;
minimising the digital divide by allowing disconnected communities the opportunity to access more channels, and the multimedia services and education programmes available on digital channels;
dedicated health, education and youth channels, which will give the SABC increased scope to deliver on its mandate to “inform, educate, entertain, support and develop culture and education”; and
access to parental locks, which will allow parents to protect their children from unsuitable broadcasts (currently this function is only available on pay TV).

If sufficient funds are not raised and allocated speedily, the SABC will lack the resources necessary to deliver DTT.

The DTT rollout has already suffered several setbacks over the past five years. The Minister needs to take the steps necessary to ensure that the rollout of DTT goes ahead as planned, and that rural communities are given the opportunity to access the benefits that digital television will provide.