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Digital migration guarantees $49bn GDP

Admire Moyo
By Admire Moyo, ITWeb's news editor.
Johannesburg, 23 Jul 2015
One barrier to digital migration faced by many countries in the region is the financial cost of completing the process, says Mortimer Hope, director for Africa at GSMA.
One barrier to digital migration faced by many countries in the region is the financial cost of completing the process, says Mortimer Hope, director for Africa at GSMA.

For sub-Saharan Africa, the migration from analogue to digital broadcasting and subsequent release of digital dividend spectrum to mobile in 2015 could result in an extra $49 billion GDP over 2015 to 2020.

That's according to Mortimer Hope, director for Africa at GSMA, who adds this will also result in the addition of 506 000 new jobs, the creation of 264 000 new businesses, and $15 billion in government funding by 2020 in terms of auction revenue, licence fees, taxes, etc.

In comparison, Hope notes, delaying the release of digital dividend spectrum to mobile by only two years - from 2015 to 2017 - could result in a GDP loss of $23 billion, 249 000 fewer jobs, 126 000 fewer new businesses and $8 billion less in tax revenue.

Hope was basing the statistics on the GSMA Intelligence. The GSMA is working to ensure the results of the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) this November maximises the benefits of mobile and mobile broadband.

Addressing future growth

Given the explosive demand for mobile data services, Hope believes it is vital that adequate spectrum is allocated to address future growth.

The ITU has stated that 1 340 MHz-1 960MHz of spectrum, depending on local requirements, will be needed in each country. The GSMA is working towards making an additional 600MHz-800MHz of spectrum available for International Mobile Telecommunications at WRC-15.

It has a team comprising economic, technical and regulatory specialists and works closely at the regional and sub-regional level to ensure the industry perspective is clear and well represented.

According to Hope, Africa-wide, estimates based solely on the spectrum currently being discussed, value the 3.6 GHz-3.8GHz spectrum allocation to mobile services at up to $22 billion.

In SA, the economic benefits of using this spectrum for mobile broadband are projected to outweigh the cost of making it available for mobile by 13 times, he points out.

"This is just one band: UHF spectrum is vital to providing rural telecoms services and South Africa must take a realistic view as to how many television multiplexes are needed."

He adds L-band spectrum will provide a significant opportunity to identify a new, globally harmonised band at 1 427MHz-1 518MHz - it already has support from many regions - and Africa will be able to take a lead on the 2.7GHz-2.9GHz band.

"South Africa should immediately license those frequency bands that are already allocated to the mobile service but not yet made available to operators. These include the 2.6GHz and digital dividend bands. The digital dividend bands can be licensed before the completion of digital migration and should be fast-tracked," he points out.

Hope says there are still a number of measures that need to be taken in order to support migration to digital in SA.

These include the resolution of the dispute surrounding set-top box access control systems; government-backed public awareness campaigns for consumers; and clear, government-supported plans for the production of local content and the subsidisation of set-top boxes to underserved and vulnerable populations.

"In any country facing the migration process, strong leadership from the government is essential to co-ordinate with all stakeholders and to push forward the digital switchover process."

Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa did not meet the ITU's 17 June 2015 digital migration deadline. Hope notes this poses challenges regarding existing analogue UHF TV assignments, which will not be protected from mobile services in neighbouring countries.

Coverage expansion

Completing the digital migration and releasing the spectrum that is freed up in the process is particularly important to meet African governments' objectives to expand coverage in rural areas, he says.

One barrier to digital migration faced by many countries in the region is the financial cost of completing the process.

However, Hope notes the long-term benefits of improved access to mobile broadband and tackling the digital divide will substantially outweigh the short-term costs. One method of funding the digital migration is to use part of the proceeds of the digital dividend licensing, he suggests.

"There are some significant opportunities coming up for South Africa in the short term. Clearing the digital dividend is one of them; WRC-15 is another. If South Africa, and indeed Africa as a whole, is able to embrace these, it will have a significant impact on the growth of broadband communications over the course of the next decade."

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