Protest today for free Set-Top Boxes

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.