Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi wants an out-of-court settlement reached in the court case that brought the analogue switch-off to a standstill.

Responding to parliamentary questions, Malatsi said the department aimed to resolve the matter in a non-litigious manner.

“We have mandated our legal representatives to engage their counterparts representing the broadcasters to explore the possibility of settling this matter out of court,” he said.

In March, e.tv owner eMedia, Media Monitoring Africa, and the SOS Save Our Public Broadcasting group were granted interim relief by the Gauteng High Court.

The applicants had sought to challenge the decision to set the analogue switch-off (ASO) on March 31, 2025, on a number of fronts, namely, irrationality, unlawfulness, absence of consultation, and non-compliance.

ASO refers to the planned transition from analogue to digital television broadcasting, also known as Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT).

Malatsi said his department, along with Sentech, which is the entity responsible for decoder distribution and installation, continued to install set-top boxes at the outstanding registered indigent households.

“The main challenge with these installations is that installers often struggle to find the recipients’ physical addresses, as accurate contact details are not always available. In some cases, the households no longer exist or have relocated.”

He also said the department and Sentech were now working with local municipalities and traditional authorities to locate and connect households.

“The State Information Technology Agency has developed an online system that allows households to update their physical addresses and contact details.”

Asked about concrete measures his department has implemented or planned to reduce the cost of mobile data and expand access to reliable broadband infrastructure, Malatsi said the SA Connect Policy has been developed to address the challenges of access to the internet.

“The department is, therefore, committed to bridging the digital divide in the country by providing Wi-Fi access to communities and ensuring universal access to the internet,” he said.

Malatsi added that his department connected over 740,000 households to the internet during the 2023/2024 financial year.

“This was enabled through the installation of 4,250 Wi-Fi hotspots.”

He said the SA Connect programme also provided data packages, some as low as R5 daily for 1 GB or capped at around R250 per month for unlimited access.

Malatsi also said the department has, through the SA Connect programme, tasked Broadband Infraco (BBI) with building 842 kilometres of fibre network and 20 Points of Presence (PoPs).

This forms part of an effort to close infrastructure gaps and extend network coverage to rural and low-income communities.

“Sentech will roll out 840 Open Access Base Stations and install 1,600 Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs) in selected rural and low-income areas.”

“Together with BBI, this infrastructure is being developed as an open-access broadband network to offer wholesale connectivity to local Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The goal is to make it more viable and affordable to bring internet access to underserved communities,” Malatsi said.

mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za

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