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Protest today for free Set-Top Boxes

26 Nov 2014

Today, Wednesday 26 November 2014, the Right2Know Campaign and the SOS Coalition will be protesting for free Set-Top Boxes outside the Universal Service& Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA) Thornhill Office Park, 94 Bekker Road, Vorna Valley in Midrand from 11am to 1pm.

The protest is about the costs of the new 'set-top box', which every household will need to continue getting TV after the South African government migrates free-to-air television broadcasting services from analogue format to digital broadcasting by June 2015.

The R2K Campaign and the SOS Coalition demands that Set-Top Boxes should be made available free of charge to all who need them. The government can afford to supply free set-top boxes to everyone.

It is estimated that a set-top box will cost between R700 and R750 for every home. Everyone needs to buy one, but this cost is unaffordable to many. The government has said it could give a discount to poorer citizens, but only if they can prove that they are poor, through a long applications process.