SA could miss ITU target

SA has yet to set a start-up date for digital migration, and if all stakeholders do not show enthusiasm and pull in the same direction, the country will miss the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) target of 2015.

So says Dave Hagen, deputy chairman of the Southern African Digital Broadcasting Association.

Commenting on a Balancing Act report, which reveals that more than half of Africa's 52 countries are poised to miss the 2015 ITU deadline, Hagen said since the unbundling of the Digital Dzonga by the Department of Communications (DOC), a body that was responsible for overseeing SA switch from analogue to digital broadcasting, there has not been any progress on the transition as it left a void in the process of digital migration.

“In terms of moving to digital terrestrial television (DTTV), SA has not gone anywhere; we have been working on it for the past seven years, but nothing has materialised so far,” says Hagen.

He adds that government was also stalling progress because of its indecisiveness on whether to adopt Brazilian or European standards of digital broadcasting.

In 2006, SA had formally agreed to adopt the digital video broadcasting terrestrial (DVB-T) standard used in Europe. Four years down the line, in April this year, the DOC called a convention to consider other options like Japan's digital broadcasting terrestrial (ISDB-Tb), which was adopted by Brazil.

So adamant is the South American country for SA to discard DVB-T for ISDB-Tb, it has already set aside finances and expertise to assist SA if it accepts the standard. Latest reports indicate that Brazil is dangling a $1 billion incentive for broadcasters to embrace this standard.

Set-top box manufactures have been lamenting the procrastination, saying that - besides losing money - they will also be forced to delay production by at least a year if government continued with its deferment of action.

However, Hagen says the country might beat the 2015 deadline if all stakeholders showed enthusiasm in the digital switch. “If the minister of communications gives a start-up date, SA can beat the ITU target. If everyone shows the same enthusiasm that was displayed when the country hosted the 2010 World Cup, the digital switch might be a minor challenge as compared to what the country has achieved previously.”

The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA), nonetheless, believes the country will meet the ITU target of 2015 as the body had already put in place the fundamentals for the switchover.

ICASA spokesperson Paseka Maleka says: “The authority has already put in the place the fundamentals. For instance, the Digital Migration Regulations were published in February 2010. However, government is still working on the issue of set-top boxes.”

Nonetheless, he says the major holdback to the completion of the digital migration drive was the set-top box issue, which government is stalling.

“The authority is confident that the country will beat the deadline, because the legislative foundation, in terms of regulations and the frequency plan, are already in place. As soon as the set-top box process is completed, the authority will be in a proper position to implement DTT, says Maleka.

The advantages of digital broadcasting include better quality television programming, increase in channels for SABC, etv and M-Net, and part of the spectrum for this process will be used for high-definition television and broadband services. Some of the spectrum, Maleka adds, will also be allocated for digital audio broadcasting services.

According to Russell Southwood, CEO of Balancing Act: “Five African countries have had public launches of DTT broadcasting and have set-top boxes on sale. Ten countries are at the pilot stage, but this may be misleading, as a pilot can be anything from a fully-fledged pilot with a major broadcaster to a much smaller test with a pay-TV operator.

“Eight countries have put together a policy document (sometimes sent to government) and in some cases they have set up a committee or task force to oversee implementation.”

Southwood explains that the reason for concerns about countries missing the ITU deadline is that the experience of the current countries involved shows that the policy process that comes before implementation can take two to three years, leaving only a relatively small amount of time to carry through the implementation.

He singled out Mauritius as having a switch-off date (2012) for analogue that is likely to be met.

The Balancing Act report says the challenge for African governments and regulators is that the digital transition seems to contain a number of negatives.

It alludes to cost as one of the inhibiting factors that will cause most countries to miss the deadline. “Citizens will either have to purchase a set-top box (usually around $50) or a digital television (which can be upwards of $300 at the lower end),” states the report.

Although the South African government has devised a subsidy scheme for those who will not be able to afford the set-top box, says the report, most other governments have focused on removing tax from cost of the box.

The cost of making the transition to digital production for the state broadcaster, and the need to buy new transmission equipment, all raise the cost barrier.

Southwood says there are benefits that countries will attain following the digital switch. “Once the transition to digital broadcasting has been made, spectrum can be used more efficiently, thus freeing up more spectrum for new uses.

“Letting spectrum will raise new income for cash-strapped governments. It will improve the broadcast signal quality and potentially increase the number of people who can watch television by increasing the coverage area: new signal carriers (as in Tanzania) will allow broadcasters to share transmission costs,” he says.

The report also notes that having more channels will allow broadcasters to offer a greater diversity of content and a greater range of languages as anticipated in SA and Mauritius.