On 2 August the South African Communications Forum (SACF) issued the following statement welcoming the fact that the Department of Communications on Friday issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the digital terrestrial television (DTT) set-top boxes (STBs) that will be subsidised for five million of South Africa’s poorer households.
The SACF statement reads: SACF welcomes the fact that the STB RFP includes a compulsory requirement for return path capability which will enable Internet access. As an industry association SACF had advocated for the inclusion of Internet access capability in the RFPs for the subsidised STBs for digital migration.
Included in the Compliance Matrix appended to the RFP, is a requirement of a fully functional USB 2.0 port “for support of external communication devices (eg.3G, 4G RF modems for return path capability)’. These Internet connectible STBs will be subsidised to provide entry level access to the Internet for the poorest South Africans in urban and rural areas.
SACF applauds Minister Pule and the Department of Communications for including these requirements in the RFP which is expected to have dramatic impact in bridging the digital divide.
The SACF, representing the majority of its members’ views and those of the broader ICT industry, welcomed that issuance of the RFP which will hasten the commercial launch of digital migration in South Africa.
