The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is planning to expand the broadcast satellite feeds into the country, and is issuing a tender for an Internet Protocol (IP) over satellite network hub.
The value of the tender will likely be about R1.5 million, says consulting technician for the SABC, Bernard Louw.
"The hub will receive multiple IP feeds via satellite, extending the SABC satellite network and expanding the throughput into other African countries," he explains.
Content received by the hub will then be decoded by a modem, he says.
Last year, the SABC acquired seven Swe-Dish IPT Suitcases (satellite systems) for about R1 million each. The systems allow 2Mbps broadband transmission of IP standard data, voice and video, and use Mpeg2 video encoding, according to Swe-Dish's Web site.
In the past four years, Swe-Dish Satellite Systems has been awarded two contracts from the US Department of Defence, for a total value of $38 million.
Louw says consumers may notice a slight increase in the amount of African programming after the tender is awarded. A winner should be announced by the end of the year.
He adds the SABC hopes to attract local satellite companies, saying it would be easier to appoint a South African service provider from a technical point of view.
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