STB compliance process emerges as bottleneck for DTT

The extensive compliance processes instilled to regulate the manufacturing of the set-top boxes (STBs) required for South Africa’s migration to digital terrestrial television (DTT) have emerged as a serious weakness as industry gears up for the imminent and long-awaited launch. Currently, STBs are required to undergo three compliance processes undertaken by the country’s communications regulator Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) and the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) before distribution, explained South African Communications Forum (SACF) executive director Loren Braithwaite-Kabosha.