In preparation for next year’s commercial launch of South Africa’s migration from analogue broadcasting to digital terrestrial television (DTT), which has been subject to many delays since it was first mooted by Cabinet in 2005, the Department of Communications (DOC) is amending the Broadcast Digital Migration Policy and reviewing the role of the Digital Dzonga.
Screen Africa readers will recall that the Digital Dzonga was set up in 2009 to oversee the country’s smooth migration to digital broadcasting. In April 2010, the then Minister of Communications, Siphiwe Nyanda, dissolved the Dzonga’s Advisory Council (made up of industry experts) on the grounds of possible conflict of interests.
Nyanda’s successor, Roy Padayachie announced April 2012 as a possible DTT launch date in his recent Budget Vote Speech.
Says Ministerial spokesperson Tiyani Rikhotso: “In the meantime we are in the process of establishing the Digital Migration Project Office, which is located within the department. We foresee that the Digital Dzonga shall play an advisory role to the Minister.’
Rikhotso notes that the strategy for the local manufacture of the set top boxes (STBs) required to decode the DTT signal has been finalised, subject to Cabinet’s approval.
“We are presently setting up an STB conformance scheme and have already finalised the tender for the conformance hardware. Going forward we will issue a tender for the conformance software,’ he explains.
With the price of DTT STBs likely to be around the R700 mark, Cabinet has approved 4.5 million of South Africa’s poorer households for possible subsidies. “Of course this figure might increase or decrease given the continuous changes in the socio-economic profile of the poor households,’ comments Rikhotso. “The subsidy scheme is meant to go to Cabinet soon for finalisation. In the meantime the Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA) is putting in place systems to implement the subsidy scheme. We believe subsidies should include aerials for these households but this issue is still under consideration.’
The DOC has an Implementation Plan for DTT which talks to the activities that must be undertaken by the Department, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), parastatal signal distributor Sentech, broadcasters, USAASA, etc. This plan was developed through consultation with key stakeholders.
According to Rikhotso, parastatal signal distributor Sentech has already achieved 60% coverage on the DVB-T2 DTT standard.
The SOS: Support Public Broadcasting Coalition and Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) held a workshop on 24 June at Cosatu House in Johannesburg to explore the progress of the country’s digital migration.
A DOC representative was scheduled to address the workshop but cancelled on the morning of the event. DTT stakeholders were addressed by SOS’ Kate Skinner, as well as e.tv group executive of Regualtory Affairs, Lara Kantor (also the former chairperson of the Digital Dzonga Advisory Council) and Gerhard Petrick of the Southern African Digital Broadcasting Association (SADIBA).
Among the issues discussed were challenges with regard to sourcing enough content to fill the new digital channels and concerns about ensuring that the market isn’t flooded with cheap STBs of inferior quality.
Petrick emphasised that digital migration is a “huge exercise’, with a need for all parties to work together to ensure the country is ready. “Digital migration is only going to happen if homes migrate, and they will only do so if they think it is sensible and valuable.’
Wayne Samson, Ellies CEO, raised the concern that many South Africans, possibly between 30% and 50%, will have to replace their aerials because digital television will be broadcast on new frequencies. He maintained that this could be “one of the biggest potential failures’ of digital migration if the public wasn’t made aware of this, and if government subsidies did not include new aerials.
