South Africa will today (October 28) mark an historic moment when the transmission of analogue signals for terrestrial TV in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) area will be phased out.

Unfortunately, Ladysmith KZN is a few thousand kilometres away from this digital revolution, where Communication Minister Faith Muthambi will officially turn off the analogue transmitters in the core towns of the SKA area in the Northern Cape, namely Van Wyksvlei, Brandvlei, Williston, Vosburg and Carnarvon.

Discontinuing analogue TV signals paves a way into a new era in broadcasting for viewers and it will also allow digital terrestrial TV coverage to reach almost all homes in the SKA and eventually the whole of South Africa.

It will still be years before the service is rolled out nationwide, but once operational, every resident will have access to digital HD quality TV. Residents who cannot afford the set-top boxes required will be able to register at their local post office for a free government subsidized box.

Please note, digital TV has not even begun being rolled out in KZN yet.

The benefits of digital TV in other countries include as many as 70 free-to-air TV channels broadcast. In South Africa, the number of channels is expected to be a lot lower initially, with the number increasing later on. It is unlikely that the current set-top-boxes will be able to do 70 channels, but as the service catches on, better boxes will surely be released.

Add to this better picture and sound quality – as well as value-added services such as an electronic TV guide, multiple language tracks and subtitles – and digital TV seems to be a MUST HAVE.

This can only be good news for the close to 13 million TV viewing households, especially the 62% that rely on free-to-air broadcasters like SABC’s three channels and E-TV.

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