Name and Location
Digital broadcasting migration project, South Africa.

Client
The Department of Communications (DoC) and Sentech.

Project Description
Digital terrestrial television (DTT) is the implementation of digital technology to provide more channels and/or better picture quality and sound through a conventional television antenna or aerial, instead of a satellite dish or cable connection.

In 2005, State-owned enterprise Sentech announced plans to roll out DTT, using digital video broadcasting terrestrial (DVB-T) technology, in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Initially, there will be two DVB-T transmitters for each location or site.

The first phase of the project involves upgrading the Sentech broadcast network and duplicating the current analogue network channels on a digital system.

Most of the 220 sites needed to broadcast DTT to 92% of South Africa's population are already in place, but need to be upgraded to become fully digital. Once that process has been completed, DTT and analogue systems will run simultaneously (a dual-illumination process) until South Africa is ready to switch off analogue transmission. This decision will be made by government.

A set-top box (STB) will be required to decode the signal, even for public broadcasting and free-to-air channels. The STBs are expected to be subsidised.

Value
The upgrade is expected to cost R1-billion.

Supplying the STBs will cost an estimated R2.45-billion.

Duration
According to an agreement with the International Telecommunications Union, the country has until 2015 to complete the migration, after which it will no longer have exclusive use of the frequencies.

Latest Developments
The DoC has withdrawn its appeal against a court decision on the conditional access control over subsidised STBs.

The DoC has backtracked on its decision to contest the South Gauteng High Court’s December ruling, which states that, besides DoC-appointed signal distributor Sentech, other broadcasters should also be granted conditional access control.

The department has described its withdrawal of the appeal as an act “goodwill”.

Communications Minister Dina Pule, who is confident that commercial DTT will be launched before the end of 2013, previously commented that the migration could be delayed by three years if broadcasters and the DoC failed to fast-track a decision on conditional access control.

The DoC’s October ‘soft launch’ in the Northern Cape was meant to be followed by a nationwide commercial launch in December.

However, the much-delayed project and the awarding of the tender for the manufacture of five-million subsidised STBs was halted until the legal dispute between the DoC and free-to-air broadcaster e.tv was resolved.
The department, State-owned broadcaster the South African Broadcasting Corporation and e.tv, besides others, have continued with court-ordered talks about the role of each party in the implementation of the conditional access, the continuation of the STB tender and the delivery of the STBs.

“An agreement between all parties is imminent,” Pule has said.

Meanwhile, Sentech, which has been tasked with ensuring sufficient digital terrestrial signal coverage, is on track to achieve more than 80% of DTT coverage by March this year, closing in on its 88% population coverage target. Sentech aims to ensure that South Africa receives 88% by December 2013. The remaining 12%, deemed too difficult or uneconomical for terrestrial broadcasting, will receive the digital broadcasting signals through direct-to-home satellite signals.

The completion of digital migration will enhance the DoC’s aim of providing broadband for all by 2020, with the release of the much-needed spectrum.

The additional spectrum will allow the telecommunications industry to roll out planned next-generation long-term evolution networks, which use considerable bandwidth to reach download speeds of 100 Mb/s, and to close the digital divide.

LTE-suitable bandwidth is in high demand and short supply and many local mobile operators have been laying the groundwork for the LTE networks in preparation for the speedy roll-out of the technology.

South Africa is finalising its Broadband Strategy and Implementation Plan.

Once the migration is completed, analogue broadcasting frequencies’ exclusivity, or protection, will be lifted, resulting in signal interruptions.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
South Africa has until 2015 to complete the migration, after which it will no longer have exclusive use of the frequencies.

Contact Details for Project Information
DoC, tel +27 12 427 8000 or fax +27 12 427 8016; or spokesperson Tiyani Rikhotso, cell +27 83 800 9936 or email tiyani@doc.gov.za; or digital migration project leader Themba Phiri, tel +27 12 427 8146 or fax +27 12 427 8059.
DoC Go Digital, tel +27 800 463 444, fax +27 11 399 6023 or email info@godigitalsa.co.za.
Sentech, tel +27 11 691 7000.