The Ministry of Communications and Digital Technologies has announced that together with broadcasters, it has started with the phased switch-off of analogue television transmitters in the Free State.
This follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement during the State of the Nation Address last month that the phased switch-off of analogue TV transmitters would begin this month.
The department said it is anticipated that this process, which will be done on a province-by-province basis, will be completed by the end of March 2022.
On Monday the analogue signal was switched off in Boesmanskop and surrounding towns in the Xhariep District Municipality, the department said. This will be followed by Ladybrand and surrounding towns on Tuesday.
“The switch-off in each province will be systematic and in phases, moving from one analogue transmitter coverage area to the other, until all district municipalities within the province are completed,” the department said.
The department is working with provincial governments and district municipalities to recruit local installers of government-subsided digital decoders to accelerate the implementation of the broadcasting digital migration.
This will, in turn, free up previous high-demand spectrum for use by mobile operators, resulting in better networks and cheaper mobile data for South Africans.
Analogue TV switch-off dates
The analogue TV switch-off dates for each province is shown below.
Free State – March 2021
Northern Cape – April 2021
North West – May 2021
Mpumalanga – May 2021
Eastern Cape – May 2021
Kwa-Zulu Natal – July 2021
Western Cape – November 2021
Limpopo – December 2021
Gauteng – January 2022
Note that this timeline is an estimate and the department will provide further detail in future.
Installing and subsiding decoders
This switch-off of analogue television transmitters follows a reviewed implementation process initiated.
You can visit your local post office to apply for a STB or go to your other branches and purchase either a OpenView, Starsat, DStv and soon PremiumFree decoder.
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