SA's digital move 'on track'
2008-02-21 15:22
Johannesburg - The South African Department of
Communications (DOC) said on Thursday that the process of migrating
television broadcasting from analogue to digital signal is on track and
ahead of most countries in the world.
It noted media reports that raised concerns about its state of readiness
to meet Cabinet's decision for digital broadcasting to be switched on.
Cabinet announced last year that the digital signal would be switched on
on November 1 2008 while the analogue signal would be switched off on
November 1 2011, allowing for a three year dual-illumination period when both will be received at the same time.
The DOC said that migration of the broadcasting system to digital is an
international imperative brought on by technological developments in
broadcasting, which will see the end of analogue broadcasting in 2015.
"The Department remains committed to President Thabo Mbeki's State of
the Nation announcement that digital broadcasting will be provided to 50% of the households by the end of the year, and 80% by 2010," it said.
It added that it would soon start a public awareness campaign to inform
and educate the general public about the broadcasting digital migration
process.