Digital TV in SA to face more delays

In a statement issued on January14, 2013, the Department of Communications (DoC) said it has decided to appeal the court decision to grant E-TV,SABC, and free to air broadcasters control of the conditional access in the state-sponsored set-top boxes (STBs).
According to the DoC, the decision was taken after considering the implications of the judgement on other broadcasters, particularly potential broadcasters, in line with the Broadcasting Digital Migration Policy.
The Department is also consulting with existing broadcasters and ICASA (Independent Communications Authority of south Africa) on the role of each party in the implementation of the conditional access as per the court judgement.
Industry players have indicated that without clarity on the STB control system, production of set-top boxes can’t begin.
An STB is a decoder-like box that will allow TV viewers to use their existing analogue TV sets to receive the new DVB-T2 digital TV signal set to replace South Africa’s ageing analogue terrestrial broadcasting standard.
Source: My broadband