Politics to blame for nine-year overdue digital migration process
SA missed its own 2011 deadline to switch its signal to digital, and communications minister Nomvula Mokonyane says the analogue switch-off is now only likely to occur in July 2020
Political interference and instability is largely to blame for SA’s failure to meet its initial 2011 deadline to migrate from analogue to digital, which has directly contributed to the high cost of data, analysts said at the weekend. SA already lags much of Africa on digital migration and missed the 2015 International Telecommunications Union (ITU) deadline to switch its signal to digital. This means the union no longer protects SA’s analogue signal and people living in border areas could experience signal interruptions. Communications minister Nomvula Mokonyane announced on Friday that the analogue switch-off is now only likely to occur in July 2020. “Based on the activities plan and the resources we have, analogue switch-off will occur in SA in July 2020. However, we will work harder to do it earlier if it’s possible. In the meantime, I can confirm that the Free State province will be the first one to be switched off on December 31 2018,” Mokonyane said. Technology expert Arthur G...
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