South Africa's Department of Communications needs another ZAR6.6 billion to successfully complete implementing digital broadcasting migration by the worldwide June 2019 deadline, reports News24. Communications Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane told Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Communications the country has eighteen months in which to manage the process but that the department needs more money.
All households still using traditional analogue frequencies, as opposed to those who have purchased satellite television, will require set-top boxes from the government by the deadline, said the minister, noting that the government's initial target was to provide 5 million boxes in total. Acting director-general Thabiso Thiti said the department had budgeted ZAR 2.45 billion for early phases of the project, which was only sufficient to create 1.5 million kits, including set-top boxes, aerials and installation costs.
Of those, 850 000 have been delivered to South African Post Office warehouses, where they await national roll-out. Thus far, only 23,000 installations have been completed in the Northern Cape. Thiti said the next phase would be to clear the existing kits and install them in the Free State and North West provinces first. Deployment for the rest of the country is scheduled to take place from July 2018.
In total, the department requires ZAR 3.7 billion for the creation of set-top boxes and antennae, another ZAR 1 billion for distribution, warehousing, dual illumination and call centre facilities, and another ZAR 1.5 billion to be allocated to the SABC.