Poynting to Supply Digital TV Antennas in SA

December 17, 2015

South African technology firm Poynting, which manufacturer and supply antenna solutions, is planning to ship 500 000 digital TV antennas to the South African Post Office to kick-start the country’s migration from analogue to digital terrestrial television. By Staff Writer

February 1, 2016 has been set as the day when analogue television broadcasting will be converted and replaced by digital television.

The new DigiAnt antenna will be shipped with TV set-top boxes to post offices across South Africa.

South Africa missed the June deadline, set by the International Telecommunications Union, to have all television broadcasts switched to the digital medium.

Poynting said on Thursday that the migration from analogue to digital terrestrial television kicked-off today with the delivery of the first shipment of new Poynting DigiAnt digital TV antennas to the South African Post Office. This shipment forms part of an initial 500 000-unit order that will ultimately see 5 million low-income households receive subsidised digital TV antennas and set-top decoders as part of the transition from analogue to digital TV broadcasts.

The new DigiAnt antenna will be shipped with TV set-top boxes to post offices across South Africa, where low-income households can apply for and receive their devices and antennas.

“We are very proud to be able to ship the first South African designed and built digital antennas as part of the SA Government’s Go Digital transition programme,” says Eduard Walker, head of product management at Poynting Antennas.

“With the first shipment delivered, we will start the process of training installers and installing the first trial units in Keimoes and Kakamas in the Northern Cape next week.”

The DigiAnt antenna is a folding horn-type TV antenna that operates in a wide frequency band from 470 MHz to 862 MHz.  It is widely considered to be the first new TV antenna design in South Africa for over five decades.

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