Supreme Court Act, 1959
R 385
Electronic Communications Act, 2005 (Act No. 36 of 2005)RegulationsDigital Terrestrial Television (DTT) Regulations, 20097. Electronic Communication Network Service (ECNS) Licensee |
| 1) | Each multiplex will be assigned to an ECNS licensee, which will operate the multiplex in accordance with the process outlined in these regulations. |
| 2) | Within sixty (60) days of publication of these regulations, existing television broadcasting service licensees must provide the Authority with the name of their preferred ECNS to be designated as the Multiplex operator. |
| 3) | The submission referred to in regulation 7 (2) above should include the following: |
| a) | Commercial agreement entered into between the parties; |
| b) | Rollout plan in line with the coverage targets stated in regulation 7(10); and |
| c) | Technical plan consistent with the broadcasting frequency plan. |
| 4) | Should the existing broadcasting service licensee fail to comply with regulation 7(2) above, the Authority will within the subsequent sixty (60) days issue an Invitation for any interested ECNS to apply to provide signal distribution services and act as a multiplex operator. |
| 5) | The Application submitted in response to regulation 7(4) must include the following information: |
| a) | Tariff framework to be applied; |
| b) | Rollout plan in line with the coverage targets stated in regulation 7(10); and |
| c) | Technical plan consistent with the broadcasting frequency plan. |
| 6) | Failure to submit the information required in terms of regulation 7(5) may lead to the application not being considered. |
| 7) | Where the Authority believes that it is necessary as a matter of procedural fairness, the Authority may take any or all of the following steps - |
| a) | Invite interested persons to submit written representations in relation to application(s) received from ECNS licensees to operate the Multiplex within the period specified in the notice: |
| b) | allow the applicant(s) an opportunity to submit written responses to representations received in relation to the application within the period specified by the Authority; and |
| c) | Conduct a public hearing in relation to the application. |
| 8) | A multiplex must be operated in accordance with section 62 of the Act. |
| 9) | An ECNS licensee designated as the Multiplex Operator is responsible for the multiplexing and signal distribution services. |
| 10) | The ECNS licensee providing services to Multiplex 1 and Multiplex 2 must ensure that the digital broadcast signal reaches the following percentage of the population in the Republic: |
| a) | 50% coverage at the end of the 2009/2010 financial year; |
| b) | 60% coverage at the end of the 2010/2011 financial year |
| c) | 80%coverage at the end of 2011/2012 financial year. |
| 11) | Multiplex operators must provide the Authority with quarterly reports on the quality of standards, including progress in meeting required technical standards and measures undertaken or to be undertaken to manage and prevent frequency interference within South Africa and in the region. |
| 12) | Multiplex operators must keep records of all incidences of harmful frequency interference and include them in their quarterly reports to be submitted to the Authority |
