Reinventing the tube

Think you know television? Think again! The government is revolutionising free TV, switching from an analogue to a digital signal. Stephan Matthee investigates what this means for soapie-lovers across the country.

TV is set for radical changes. As new technology demands revolutionise the medium, South Africa is getting a jumpstart on the competition, switching from the outdated analogue signal to a digital one. TV was introduced to SA in 1976, with no major advancements in the interim. This is a major leap forward for adherents to what is also known as the “idiot box”.

What this means for the average viewer is, firstly, a change in cost (see box), and secondly, a wealth of choice and an increase in the number of free stations. Digital terrestrial television (DTT) could result in as many as 45 new channels being freed up for use.

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has yet to indicate how the new channels will be allocated. Allowing new players in the field is a possibility, as the Department of Communications (DOC) recently did in allowing seven new licenses for satellite television. The possibility of making money from the switch is also an option. The United States recently auctioned off its analogue bandwidth, raising $19.6 billion.
From the 1st of November 2008, the four existing terrestrial SA television stations, namely SABC 1, 2 and 3 as well as e-TV, will be broadcast in digital format. This will be broadcast alongside the analogue system, an arrangement known as “dual illumination” because both signals will operate side by side.

Sentech, the state-owned broadcast network operator, has announced the following timetable:
1 Nov 2008 – begin DTT transmission.
31 Dec 2009 – 50% of households receive DTT.
31 Dec 2010 – 80% of households receive DTT.
1 Nov 2011 – 100% digital coverage and end of analogue signal.

Sentech’s acting Chief Operations Officer, Frans Lindeque, claimed in a statement to the media that DTT “opens the way to combine the pay-per-view services available on the internet with the simplicity of television”. He adds that a primary benefit of DTT will be “clearer, sharper pictures provided without interference and ghosting that some residents of built-up areas or hilly terrain sometimes experience”. Lindeque says DTT also offers a widescreen format and multiple language offerings per channel.

The Government is also excited for the opportunities of interactivity that digital television offers. This means that the set-top box will be able to send information from the viewer back to the broadcaster, as well as receiving and downloading new software and content.

“This feature enables the full and interactive provision of e-government services such as accessing, filling in and sending back government forms without the viewer leaving home or the place where the TV set is located,” says Joe Makhafola, spokesperson for the Department of Communications (DOC).

There have been some questions as to whether the DOC can effectively roll out the decoders in time for their own three-year deadline. Makhafola is adamant: “SA has learnt a lot from countries that have completed the analogue switch-off,” he says. “When Finland, for example, switched off the analogue signal last year, there was 99.9% coverage,” he says.

Other players in Africa are Senegal, who pioneered DTT in 2005, and Mauritius, who launched broad-based DTT in 2006 through private enterprise London Satellite Systems (LSS).

Sentech plans to have most of South Africa ready for digital broadcasts of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and also plans to transmit key games and the tournament final via a high-definition signal. DTT was a prerequisite for South Africa hosting the World Cup, according to FIFA.

Whether South Africa will be in compliance by the DOC’s own deadline is unclear. The International Telecommunication Union has set a more realistic deadline of a switchover by 2015, a deadline for member states to adopt the new international standard.

In its latest annual report, Sentech said it had received “only R500 million” for the roll- out of its DTT infrastructure and making set-top boxes available. This may hamper the more ambitious plans that Sentech had implemented. This is an echo of Sentech’s internet ventures MyWireless and Biznet, which proved dismal failures and will reportedly soon be abandoned. This was despite the company getting a headstart on competitors such as wireless internet provider iBurst, thanks in large part to sluggish funding.

The DTT set-top boxes may also have economic benefits, provided that funding is rolled out promptly. Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri has said the government’s plans for digital television, and the consequent switching off of the analogue signal, will result in job creation in the manufacturing and service industries. Casaburri said the set-top boxes, used to receive the digital signal, will be manufactured in South Africa, resulting in job creation, not only in the manufacturing industry, but also in the installation and repair of the product as well as further jobs through call centres (see box).

The Government hopes that its strategy to build a “first class” set-top box manufacturing sector in South Africa will lead to the expansion of a domestic electronics manufacturing sector. The boxes may be delayed, however, as the specifications for the boxes have to be approved by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) before manufacturers can start building the devices.

If this happens, those who would be subsidised by the Government would be at a disadvantage, as would those unwilling or unable to buy a brand new digital television. They can only hope that the South African government’s desire to modernise immediately does not leave them by the wayside.