Sentech is investing R300 million in satellite facilities to be used for the 2010 FIFA World Cup games, with a portion of the funds to be used to build a second teleport for the country.
The satellite facilities will transport broadcast feeds from the 10 designated stadiums to the international broadcast centre (IBC), and from the IBC to the satellites transmitting the games to various parts of the world.
According to Frans Lindeque, Sentech's executive for digital systems, R25 million of the R300 million will be used to build satellite infrastructure, while R110 million is to be used on satellite-related equipment at the 10 stadiums.
He says R85 million will be spent on linking equipment between stadiums and IBC, while the cost of satellite access comes to R80 million.
National Treasury has already approved the funding, though the funds have not been transferred to Sentech's account yet, he says.
Lindeque notes that the investment in satellite facilities is part of government's move to meet its 2010 FIFA obligations. Sentech has no intention to spend any additional funds on satellite infrastructure not related to the 2010 games, he says.
Sentech has also been tasked with providing wireless broadband redundancy for the 2010 games through its R500 million wireless broadband infrastructure.
It is also responsible for building digital broadcasting TV infrastructure, and has pledged to ensure that 78% of SA can receive digital transmissions by 2010.
Second teleport
Lindeque says SA has only one teleport, which is being used to send and receive satellite transmission. The second teleport would ensure that there is no break in transmission, even if the first teleport has technical problems, meeting FIFA's redundancy requirements.
"It is essential for Sentech to have 99.99% availability of broadcast feed."
The teleport is to be built in Nasrec, with construction expected to begin this year and be completed next year, Lindeque says. Sentech is well on track to meet the 2010 deadlines regarding its obligations to provide satellite facilities, he says.
He also notes that a large part of the satellite facilities construction will be done internally, with Sentech staff managing the legacy infrastructure after the 2010 games.
Intelsat in talks
<B>Correction</B>
Sentech has pointed out that it has not been tasked with providing wireless broadband redundancy for the 2010 games. The state-owned entity says it is investing R500 million in the roll-out of a wireless broadband network. However, the network is not intended as a 2010 investment.
Meanwhile, Intelsat says it is in talks with local and international broadcasters about providing capacity for the 2010 World Cup Soccer broadcasts.
The global satellite provider is also in talks with local and international broadcasters about providing capacity and advice for the 2010 World Cup broadcasts, says Flavien Bachabi, regional vice-president for Africa.
Bachabi would not discuss whether Intelsat was in talks with government to partner with state-owned Sentech in providing satellite capacity.
However, Intelsat already has a relationship with Sentech, providing free capacity for Sentech's Mindset to enable it to broadcast to over two million households, 1 200 schools and over 307 health centres.
"We don't know what arrangements the South African government will make," he says.
He notes that Intelsat has 53 satellites in orbit, with half of them having coverage in Africa.
Intelsat dedicates part of its capacity to special events like the Olympics and the World Cup tournament. This enables the company to quickly develop solutions geared especially for those services at short notice, he says.
Intelsat previously provided host countries with capacity and advice, and can pass the insight gained to SA, says Bachabi.
"This information is not something you can get from a book," he adds.
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