Failure, bankruptcy, fiasco, disaster, catastrophe… the strongest words are being used to
describe the situation of DTT in South Africa. Senegal, which is also experiencing setbacks
and difficulties with digital terrestrial television, is not alone in this
situation.
Scheduled for March 31, 2025, the switch-off of analog television has been suspended by the North Gauteng High
Court.
This decision follows legal action brought by eMedia, Media Monitoring
Africa, and the SOS Coalition to block the March 31, 2025, deadline for the deactivation of analog
television set by Communications Minister Solly Malatsi.
The North Gauteng High Court ordered the suspension of this deadline and prohibited
any action to implement the switch-off of analog signals and end
dual lighting.
In his ruling, the judge stated that the population would suffer from the switch-off of analog television
signals: "The harm is not just a temporary inconvenience.
Every day without access to news, public service announcements, and educational
programs results in an irreversible loss of knowledge,
awareness, and democratic participation," he said.
In addition, the South African Communications Regulatory Authority (ICASA) has issued a
report stating that many of the state-funded decoders for the poorest
households date back to 2015 and are defective. They may no longer meet current technological
requirements.
Other challenges related to the slow rollout of set-top boxes include poor
reception in some parts of the country, which has discouraged many households
from adopting DTT, lack of commercial availability, and the high cost of
set-top boxes for less affluent households.
South Africa's plan to abandon analog television signals in favor of DTT
began, as elsewhere in Africa, some 15 years ago and encountered delays
and obstacles almost from the outset, forcing the authorities to regularly postpone the
analog switch-off date, initially scheduled for the end of 2011 (!!).
Faced with satellite offerings and the rise of online streaming
platforms that offer a superior user experience with a virtually unlimited catalog and competitive costs
, DTT no longer has the same appeal it had 15 years ago
. Hampered by these technical problems, poor government management, and economic
issues for disadvantaged households, DTT's very existence in South
Africa could be called into question.
Analog switch-off: further delay in South Africa
