South Africa moves to reboot digital migration after years of delay

2nd November 2018

By: Natasha Odendaal

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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Following years since embarking on, and the subsequent stalling of, South Africa’s migration from analogue to digital broadcasting, the Department of Communications (DoC) hopes to revive its momentum after revising its digital migration delivery model.

The revised model approved by Cabinet in October met with much furore over what would happen to the already manufactured decoders and infrastructure that had cost taxpayers billions of rands.

The new delivery model will see government step completely back from the procurement, warehousing, transport and installation of set-top boxes (STBs) and adopt a more market/retail-driven approach that will remove much of the public sector’s risk in the project.

“In the last few months, we have been hard at work trying to get the project on track. Our immediate task was to bring all the stakeholders on board so that we can jointly drive the project in an inclusive manner and rebuild the lost momentum,” Communications Minister Nomvula Mokonyane says.

“In May, we committed to getting the project back on track so that South Africa can join Zambia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda and other countries in the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Region 1, as well as some of [the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, or Brics,] partners who have migrated their broadcasting system to digital,” she says.

Following this, the DoC established a dedicated project management office (PMO) to be headed by Aldred Dreyer and a digital migration advisory council, led by Nomonde Gongxeka-Seopa, to work with the PMO and advise the department on how to implement this project.

“Through the collaborative work between the PMO and the advisory council, we have finalised the project roadmap which outlines how digital terrestrial television (DTT) will unfold in South Africa.”

The ‘innovative’ model for the implementation of the broadcast digital migration project aims to replace what has been described as an expensive, cumbersome, risky and outdated model that has set the decade-long project on a path of failure.

Some 11 years after the project was approved, there has been little progress in the transition to digital, with the delays exacerbated by a changed technology landscape and declining public funds, Mokoyane adds.

“The mere fact that . . . we are still this far behind underlines the challenges of this delivery model. It will be foolhardy of us to continue on this path [while] there is no progress,” she says, adding that revising the delivery model became inevitable to accelerate the project.

Acting director-general Dr Mashilo Boloka explains that the current model is overly governmentcentric, holds limited industry participation opportunities, is resource intensive and has outdated data, technology and policies.

This resulted in South Africa missing the ITU’s June 2015 deadline, leaving the country vulnerable to broadcasting interference.

The current model, where government procures, distributes and installs decoders for indigent television- (TV-) owning households, is complex and costly and a lack of the required capacity to deliver has led to further delays.

In addition, about R7.5-billion is still required for the current model to complete the analogue switch-off.

“The current model only focuses on subsidised decoders and not the full ecosystem of devices that enable digital migration,” he adds.

In addition, the ongoing delays were impacting on the release of the high- demand spectrum urgently required by the telecommunications industry to provide lower-cost, high-speed broadband services.

“A revision of the delivery model is inevitable and recommended to fast-track the completion.”

The benefits of the new delivery model include the use of existing capacity, distribution models and infrastructure, providing space for the entry of retailers and manufacturers, and allowing for open and inclusive participation and opportunities, particularly for small, medium-sized and microenterprises in various sectors.

“The revised model will allow more participation by all industry players, instead of the selected few participating through government’s procurement system,” Mokoyane says.

The model will also reduce costs and risks for the public sector, while fostering collaboration and partnerships, with the price of the STBs determined by the market.

The price of the decoders is expected to be affordable as the various retailers will compete on the basis of price instead of charging a uniform price set by government.

“To the consumer, the new model transfers power to them, as they can decide where to exchange their [subsidised] voucher,” she notes.

Government will focus on oversight and policy interventions.

Now, based on the activities plan and the resources trajectory, South Africa’s analogue switch-off is expected to be completed by July 2020.

The Free State will be the first province to be switched off on December 31, 2018, followed by the Northern Cape by March 31.

The work in the Northern Cape will be carried out concurrently with the North West province.

“If we have diverse interventions and different solutions, we could be in a position to accelerate this timeline further,” Mokoyane adds.

“This project is not an easy project – it requires all stakeholders working together. We still have a lot of months to cover,” Mokoyane says.

The Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (Usaasa) and the South African Post Office (Sapo) will continue with the implementation of the remaining STBs using the old model until decoder depletion.

There are currently over 390 000 STBs in Sapo warehouses.

“We will move swiftly to clear the stock in the Free State and the Northern Cape, based on the current model,” she says.

This will ensure no wastage of equipment and funds, and allow the DoC time to prepare for the implementation of the revised delivery model from March.

Dreyer says that the PMO is preparing to operationalise the new model during the period November 2018 to March 2019.

“Government will then rightfully [perform] its role of providing policy certainty and oversight to create an enabling environment,” Mokonyane explains, pointing out that the registration and installation of government decoders and the roll-out of the project will continue unhindered until the new delivery model is phased in.

However, clarifying earlier reports, she states that the subsidised STB procurement alone did not amount to the reported R10-billion in expenditure to date for the multistakeholder project.

The expenditure also covered the infrastructure build, distributions, installations and public awareness programmes, besides others.

Usaasa has spent R938.4-million – R603.4-million on the procurement of 880 128 STBs and R334.9-million on antennae and satellite dishes.

Usaasa had an allocation of R2.3-billion for one-million DTT STBs, 500 000 direct-to-home STBs, one-million antennas and 500 000 satellite dishes.

During the Phase 1 implementation stage of the project, the entity placed an order for 1.5-million STBs, with the 880 128 STBs delivered to Sapo to date.

About 486 077 STBs have been installed at subsidised beneficiaries, while the balance remains in storage in Sapo warehouses, barring a few in transit, through installers, to the beneficiaries.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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