R2.45bn to help poor pay for TV
2008-08-07 14:10
Pretoria - Government is to provide R2.45bn to South Africa's "poorest TV-owning households" to help them buy the set-top signal boxes they will need once the switch from analogue to digital broadcasting is completed in 2011.
"The digital signal will be switched on at the beginning of November [this year] and the analogue signal will be switched off in November 2011," government communications head Themba Maseko told a media briefing in Pretoria on Thursday after Cabinet's fortnightly meeting.
Cabinet had approved this digital migration policy, as well as a "scheme-for-ownership-support", at its meeting in Tshwane on Wednesday.
"In terms of the proposed scheme, government would provide a 70% incentive for the set-top boxes to the five million poorest TV-owning households at a cost of R2.45bn during the three years of dual illumination," Maseko said.
- SAPA