SA's much anticipated switch over to digital television has been delayed yet again, and analogue signal will now stop being broadcast towards the end of 2014, almost a full year after the previous deadline.
Digital migration is a key project to free up much-needed spectrum in the 800MHz range, the so-called digital dividend. Mobile providers argue this frequency will speed up penetration in rural areas as it is more cost-effective than some other ranges as fewer base stations are required.
Government has set itself the target of achieving 100% broadband coverage by 2020, an aim the sector has previously rubbished as too grand.
Pushed out
However, any benefits of turning off the outdated signal will now be delayed by almost another year. Communications minister Dina Pule last week said the target date for finalising the digital terrestrial television project was June 2015.
Pule's spokesperson, Siya Qoza, says the department is committed to finalising the rollout of digital TV within two years after migration starts. In January, the minister indicated the December 2013 deadline would be adjusted to take into account the fact that there was a delay in launching digital terrestrial television (DTT), he says.
SA is moving to DTT, using the upgraded European DVB-T2 standard, and initially aimed to turn off the outdated analogue signal towards the end of 2013.
The process has already experienced several setbacks, including launching digital TV, which has been pushed out to September, after initially being mooted for next month. In addition, the initial turn off date of November 2011 was not met.
Delayed benefit
DiViTech COO Bertus Bresler says, based on international experience, no country the size of SA with a population of 50 million has moved off analogue within a year. He says a more realistic time frame would be five years as countries such as the UK, for example, are still migrating.
The Democratic Alliance's deputy shadow communications minister, Butch Steyn, says it is unfortunate that the department does not seem to have a final and realistic plan in place for the rollout and switch over. It would make sense for SA to switch over about 18 months sooner than the ITU's deadline, to accommodate potential delays, he adds.
However, World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says the extended deadline is an indication that a “vigorous dose of realism has set in at the Department of Communications”.
Goldstuck says it is unfortunate that the delay will push out benefits from the digital dividend, which puts an added challenge on the department to license spectrum in the high-demand 2.6GHz range.
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