SA's new communications minister, Roy Padayachie, has breathed fresh life into the emerging electronics manufacturing sector, after prioritising digital TV as a key departmental project yesterday.
The minister announced the set-top box manufacturing strategy will be wrapped up by March, and a digital TV standard would be decided by mid-December.
However, manufacturers point out SA faces tight deadlines to get digital TV on air by November 2011 - the current switch-on date - and has lost the chance to be a leading manufacturer of boxes for the entire continent. Internationally, the deadline for switching off analogue TV is mid-2015.
SA's move to digital television stalled under former communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda, when the Department of Communications (DOC) decided to revisit its 2006 decision to implement digital TV based on the European DVB-T standard. Instead, the DOC pondered the use of the Brazilian ISDB-T standard.
Government's move angered the industry, which has spent at least R700 million getting ready for switch-on. Smaller manufactures faced closing their doors, because they could not produce boxes while the review was under way, and Altech CEO Craig Venter threatened to sue government if it went ahead with ISDB-T.
Towards the end of last year, the communications department released a draft strategy that aimed to promote the emerging electronics sector and take advantage of the millions of set-top boxes that would be needed throughout Africa.
Set-top boxes are needed to transform digital signal so that it can be viewed on older television sets. Cabinet has earmarked R2.45 billion to subsidise boxes for poor households, and emerging companies spent millions gearing up to benefit from government's promises.
Hope on the horizon
Yesterday, Padayachie identified the country's broadcasting digital migration as a key DOC project. Padayachie was speaking during his first public address after being appointed to take over from Nyanda in a recent Cabinet reshuffle.
“Our programme will focus on finalising the set-top box manufacturing strategy, the scheme for ownership support for poor TV owning households, and the local and a digital content development strategy.
“We envisage that this will be submitted to Cabinet for approval during the first quarter of 2011,” he adds.
In addition, South African manufacturers will, in a month, finally have clarity as to which digital standard will be used for migration.
“The finalisation of this matter will assist in accelerating the implementation of broadcasting digital migration in SA,” he says.
Better late than never
SA's inability to pick a digital terrestrial television standard - and stick with it - has endangered several emerging set-top box manufacturers.
In August, Arion Bomema Technology (ABT) faced the threat of closing its doors if a decision was not made soon. President and CEO Muzi Makhaye said at the time that the company had virtually come to a standstill because of government's indecision.
This morning, Makhaye welcomed Padayachie's announcement, but noted SA has lost its potential to be the leading set-top box producer on the continent, because other countries have advanced migration while SA dithered.
ABT had wanted to take advantage of government's promises that a local electronics manufacturing sector would be established, and that there were huge opportunities to export STBs to Africa.
Makhaye notes that a decision in a month's time will occur as SA shuts down for the festive season, which will mean companies cannot plan. “We have lost this year, this entire year.”
ABT is still struggling to stay open, he says, as the company has not been able to implement its business plan, which was based on government's promised manufacturing strategy. However, it has found other sources of revenue in the meantime.
Makhaye says the tight timeframe to get about 10 million boxes into SA households by switch-on will require additional investment in capacity to meet demand.
Seemahale chairman Thabo Lehlokoe says production at the black-owned company stalled while the manufacturer waited for a decision. He says it is vital that a standard is chosen as soon as possible so that the factory can reactivate production.
Bertus Bressler, head of STB manufacture at Reutech, says if government wants to turn on digital television by next November, the next six months will be crucial as there are several aspects to be wrapped up before decoder production can go ahead.
In addition to choosing a standard, Sentech's national network needs to be rolled out. Sentech expects to have 60% coverage by March. Moreover, set-top box controls to prevent stolen decoders working outside of SA need to be developed, and government will have to issue a tender for companies to provide the subsidised boxes by April.
Share