Case To Halt Analogue Switch Off Continues

Proceedings in the case that seeks to invalidate and halt the analogue switch off will continue today in the Pretoria High Court.

Yesterday, three applicants namely ETV, Media Monitoring Africa and SOS Support public broadcasting argued that the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies did not sufficiently consult with them on the scheduled migration expected to take place on March 31, 2025.

Should the switch off take place, approximately 13.9 million people will not be able to view television programmes on their old analogue Box TV sets.

SOS national coordinator Uyanda Siyotula says this decision will result in the rights of millions of poor people being infringed upon.

Lawyers were really able to point out to the court that it was important for us to be consulted in accordance with the Constitutional Court ruling. But I think the other important thing is that they actually really pointed out the fact that the rights of many poor and marginalised people are going to be infringed should this analogue switch-off go ahead as planned on the 31st of March.