JSE-listed Ellies Holdings would increase exports of its digital terrestrial television (DTT) aerials into the rest of Africa, following continued local delays in the migration from analogue to DTT, Ellies CEO Wayne Samson said at the company’s interim results presentation on Wednesday.

“South Africa is falling behind, while the rest of the continent is surging ahead with digital migration,” he said.

The company invested over R50-million into DTT products, which included the bulking up of its local manufacturing capacity, as well as the import of production machinery and raw materials to produce the aerials.

Samson added that Ellies airfreighted some 100 000 DTT aerial kits to Nigeria in December and was actively exporting the product elsewhere in Africa.

Meanwhile, he asserted that positive engagement around the implementation of DTT was essential to meet South Africa’s 2015 migration target, as specified under an agreement with the International Telecommunications Union, after which analogue broadcasting frequencies’ exclusivity, or protection, would be lifted, resulting in signal interruptions.

Earlier this month, Engineering News Online reported that the country’s migration from analogue to DTT could be delayed by three years if broadcasters and the Department of Communications (DoC) failed to fast-track a decision on conditional access control over subsidised set-top boxes (STBs).

The DoC appealled the South Gauteng High Court’s decision in December to grant conditional access control to broadcasters instead of DoC-appointed Sentech.

A STB decoder would be required for terrestrial broadcasting transmission signals; however, the awarding of a tender for the STBs, and the subsequent manufacture and distribution, was halted until the legal matter was resolved.

“The country is struggling as a result of the delay around digital migration. This issue does not only concern television, it is also about the need to free up bandwith to enable the country to operate at its full telecommunications capability,” Samson said.

However, the company indicated that it did expect a resolution to the issue and hoped to officially launch its DTT aerial locally by June or July.

Ellies said it maintained local stock of some 500 000 aerial kits in anticipation of this and for export into the rest of the continent.

Meanwhile, Ellies had engaged with the Department of Trade and Industry around the imposition of 20% import duties on all outdoor antennas, as well as the enforcement of minimum local content levels for DTT antennas.

“We do believe that minimum local content requirements will be above the 50% mark, which is in line with our manufacturing levels,” said Samson.

WI-FI OFFERING
Meanwhile, the company said it would also place renewed focus on its Skyevine modem and satellite signal receiver offering in response to indications by government that it was looking to roll-out wi-fi connectivity in all schools and would be going out to tender in the short-term.

“Most schools are located in rural areas outside the range of [third-generation mobile signals] and the only way to establish wi-fi connections in these schools is to use a product like ours, with bidirectional Internet through the use of satellite,” said Samson.

He added that, while the company felt it had taken the product to market too early, it expected good growth in the long term.