The December 2013 target for switching over from analogue to digital broadcasting is within reach, and the country will be able to generate enough content after the migration.
So said deputy minister of communications Obed Bapela, when opening the 2011 Information Technology Association (ITA) Conference, yesterday, in Bryanston.
Recently, ITWeb reported that the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) wants R1.6 billion from government to enable it to provide new content as part of the country's migration to digital television.
According to Bapela, the digital switchover would help SA generate local broadcasting content, as there will be multiple TV channels on offer. He says, currently, almost 90% of broadcasting content is not locally produced, although there is a lot of content available in SA, which would create many jobs if it were put to use.
Bapela hinted that government is in the process of setting up a content generation fund, which will give incentives to local content producers. “This fund will help the local content producers to think big.”
Bapela emphasised that the switchover will also see a boost in job creation, which, he said, is government's main theme for 2011. “Government has a target of creating five million jobs by 2020, and to reduce unemployment from 25% to 15% in the same period,” he said.
He added that as the digital switchover deadline looms, the Department of Trade and Industry has also suggested that SA starts manufacturing TVs that would be able to support digital content in future, rather than only relying on set-top boxes.
Besides creating jobs, he said, the move can also be invaluable in boosting the economy. However, he noted that setting up such an industry has its own challenges.
“We need to ensure that we create a conducive environment for investors so that they know that even in the event of leaders coming and going, their investments will still be safe. There is talk of nationalisation currently, which I am sure will be the major highlight of our next conference.
“However, government cannot achieve this goal alone. We also need the industry to play its part in creating jobs, which will result in the improvement of the lives of our people.”
Bapela also indicated that the ICT sector has the potential to generate at least one million jobs, as well create 100 000 jobs in the knowledge intensive industry. “ICT is the 20th century gold rush as well as the diamond rush because of its ability to stimulate the economy and create jobs.”
He also challenged the ICT industry in general to be innovative. However, he lamented the fact that a lack of knowledge on intellectual property rights had seen some local innovations go unnoticed. “An example is the 'pay-as-you-go' initiative, whose roots can be traced back to SA. However, the people who came up with this idea did not patent it, and it may not be surprising that they are wallowing in poverty,” he said.
Bapela, however, admitted that government is not fully supporting the ICT industry financially to enable it to reach its full potential. He singled out broadband rollout in underserved regions as one of the areas government had been found wanting.
“A lot of governments that have been able to achieve a 100% broadband penetration for their citizens, for example Finland, have chipped in financially to help the industry to achieve this. However, in SA, there is no direct support from the Treasury to assist the industry, but the department is pushing the Treasury to start allocating funds specifically for the rolling out of broadband.”
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