This year, on 1 November 2021, it was ten years since South Africa missed its first deadline to switch off old analogue TV signals occupying precious radio frequency spectrum.
The constant delays have cost South Africa dearly — holding back the issuing of new wireless network capacity in the form of spectrum for a decade.
Called the “digital dividend”, Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, and Cell C have stated that they could have used this spectrum to improve network coverage and drive down data prices.
Listening to government officials, you might hear talk of a June 2019 deadline. Or perhaps the 17 June 2015 deadline set by the International Telecommunications Union.
However, the truth is that South Africa aimed to have 80% digital TV signal coverage in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which kicked off on 11 June that year.
Total switch-off of South Africa’s analogue TV signal would…
