1 June 2010

Digital Migration

Digital migration is set to revolutionise broadcasting and SOS Coalition members have noted the benefits but also the challenges of this move. While new channels also mean more consumer choice, there are the associated costs of infrastructure, set-top boxes and generating content to consider, particularly as revenue will be spread more thinly across channels.

Previous Minister of Communications, Mr. Roy Padaychie announced that the "switch on" date for the digital signal is April 2012 and the "switch-off" date is December 2013.

This period between "switch-on" and "switch-off" is known as the "dual illumination period". Broadcasters will need to broadcast their programming both on an analogue signal and a digital signal. At the end of the "dual illumination" period, the analogue signal will be switched off and only the digital signal will remain. In order for people to be able to receive the digital signal they will need to purchase set top boxes (decoders).

Broadcasting Digital Migration Policy and new Digital Terresterial Television Regulations

To facilitate this process the Department of Communications drafted a Broadcasting Digital Migration Policy in September 2008. In August 2011 an amendment was tabled. The amendment included Cabinet's decision to adopt the DVB-T2 digital standard and also extended the analogue switch off date from November 2011 to December 2013.  The policy is still being finalised.

Further to the Digital Migration Policy the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has tabled a number of draft regulations.

Most recently ICASA has withdrawn the Digital Migration (DM) Regulations passed in February 2010. In September 2011 the Authority tabled Draft Digital Terresterial Television (DTT) Regulations. The deadline for comment is 10 November 2011.

Some of the key differences between these regulations and previous regulations are as follows:

•  The new regulations specify the new digital standard - DVB-T2. Originally goverment adopted DVB-T and also flirted with the idea of adopting a Brazilian/ Japanese standard. The Regulations clarify that DVB-T2 has been formally adopted.
• There is a reduction in the capacity allocated to the SABC, e.TV and MNet on the new digital multiplexes (i.e. Multiplex 1 and 2) but the the regulations claim these broadcasters will still have more capacity than they were allocated under the previous standard, DVB-T.
• Commuity broadcasters will be allocated 10% of multiplex 1 (that is the multiplex dedicated to the SABC). Previously only one community TV broadcaster was included - Trinity Broadcasting Network.
• A percentage of both multiplexes is reserved for future use. (Multiplex 2 includes M-Net and e.TV).

Please see sidebar for the DTT regulations and the SOS's draft submission

Issues still on the agenda

The issues that still need to be attended to  include:

• Goverment's DTT governance stucture needs to be urgently set up and resourced;
• Sentech's transmission network needs to be finalised;
• The set top box standard needs to be finalised by the South African Bureau of Standards;
• Government's strategy for supporting the manufacturing of set top boxes needs to be urgently finalised;
• The subsidy model for the set top boxes needs to be urgently finalised; and
• New digital and local content needs to be generated and government's strategy and support for this needs to be finalised.

Digital Dividend issues

ICASA ran a workshop on digital dividend issues on the 7th and 8th of April 2011. (The digital dividend is the spare frequency capacity that will be freed up when broadcasters move from analogue to digital.) SOS and civil society bodies need to develop positions on how this frequency capacity should be used. See side bar for SOS's positions and Prof Guy Berger's response. Let the debate continue!