THE South African Post Office (SAPO) has encouraged all households that qualify for a free government-subsidised decoder (set-top box) to apply at their nearest Post Office branch.
This process follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement during the State of the Nation Address that SA must complete the migration to digital broadcast by 31 March 2022.
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The analogue television signal will be switched off and only digital television transmissions will be broadcast. Analogue television sets will then only work if they are connected to a decoder.
‘All South African households with an income of R3 500 per month or less and a working television set qualify for a government-subsidised set-top box,’ said SAPO spokesperson Johan Kruger.
Qualifying beneficiaries must have a South African identity document, proof of address, an affidavit to confirm the family has a working television set, and a bank statement or affidavit to confirm the family income is R3 500 per month or less.
‘If you receive a Sassa grant, you do not need to bring proof of income. Proof that you receive a Sassa grant is enough.
‘Post Office branches have standard affidavits that the applicants can use to declare their income, to confirm they own a working television set, and to confirm their residential address. You do not need to visit a police station to do an official affidavit before you go to the Post Office,’ said Kruger.
Once an application has been approved, the information is given to Sentech to appoint a local installer to install the set-top box.
‘The SA Post Office is aware that some families registered for a set-top box at the beginning of the campaign, but the installation has not yet been done. Installations are done per province, and appointment of local installers is done by Sentech via local municipalities. There is no need to re-register to make sure you receive a set-top box,’ said Kruger.
The subsidised set-top box gives a large selection of TV and radio channels, including SABC 1, 2 and 3, SABC sport and education channels, Parliament, M Movies 4, SS Select Sport, and S Sport Blitz, among others.
