Ministers responsible for ICT in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are meeting in Lusaka, Zambia, to take a decision on the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTTV) standard for the region.
According to SADC, digital broadcasting migration is the major transformation of the broadcasting sector currently underway internationally.
The regional body says this is partly triggered by the impending switchover from analogue to digital broadcasting set in motion in 2000 by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) with June 2015 agreed as the international migration deadline.
“Senior officials from ministries responsible for information, communication, regulatory bodies and national broadcasters as well as the SADC Secretariat are meeting to prepare the ministers' agenda,” the organisation says.
The regional bloc says before digital migration takes place, digital broadcasting technology must be in place in each of its member states for broadcasting services provision in accordance with a digital broadcasting standard.
“The Special Session of SADC Ministers responsible for ICT will consider the DVB-T, DVBT-2 and ISBD-T standards and take a decision on one of them.”
The session will receive the report of the ad hoc committee on the choice of an appropriate and harmonised standard on digital television migration to be adopted by the region, it says.
“We will also consider the Draft SADC Road Map for Digital Migration Implementation towards the SADC Digital Broadcasting Migration deadline of 31 December 2013,” it adds.
To the broadcast services end user, digital broadcasting will provide better image and sound quality, the SADC says. “It will also allow for the release spectrum for use on other new and innovative media, thereby increasing the range of services available to television users.”
The migration will also enable enhanced interactivity and high definition television viewing, the SADC notes, and “consultations have been undertaken for putting in place a SADC Regional strategy for achieving the switch-over to digital broadcasting”.
The creation of an enabling environment for the harmonised digital migration was the agreed approach. “This includes revision of national ICT legislations to enable digital broadcasting migration in countries where this process has yet to be done and harmonisation of the digital broadcasting technology standard and allow for achievement of economies of scale, thereby affordability to digital broadcasting services.”
It also covers harmonisation of standards for the set top boxes (STBs) which would allow television users with analogue televisions to tune to digital broadcasting services and consultations with inter governmental agencies, specifically decision makers on taxation of imported broadcasting equipment, with the view to lowering import duties and taxes on STBs, SADC says.
Top priority
To ensure that all SADC citizens currently with access to analogue broadcasting services have full access to digital broadcasting after the switchover, the bloc says:“When migration is finally achieved, television consumers who already have digital television sets will enjoy high quality services while those with the old analogue sets will need to acquire an STB, which is a tuner of the digital signal to the analogue television reception.”
Earlier, SADC member states were encouraged to support a harmonised approach to digital migration for intra regional compatibility of broadcasting technologies.
Towards that end, the SADC Region agreed on a roadmap for the digital migration and several activities have been carried out, including the ministers' meeting of June 2009 held in Swakopmund, Namibia, that adopted 13 December 2013 as the Region's deadline for migrating to digital broadcasting.
SADC's earlier deadline to the international switchover aims at making room for the region to address challenges that may occur during the switchover.
In addition, the session will take a decision on SADC preparations and coordination of regional position leading to regional, continental and international meetings.
Share