The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is "disappointed that ICASA [the communications regulator] has put the conversion of the broadcasting system from analogue to digital on the back-burner," says its COO Solly Mokoetle.
Mokoetle was speaking before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications on behalf of the SABC board yesterday. The SABC delegation presenting to the committee also included its CEO Dali Mpofu, chairperson Eddie Funde and CFO Robin Nicholson.
Mokoetle was replying to a number of questions posed by members of Parliament concerning the upgrade to the broadcasting signal distribution network. Their questions related to a presentation made by signal distributor Sentech earlier this week, which said the broadcast network was aging and in urgent need of digitisation in order to make the country ready for the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament.
Mpofu said in his reply to members' questions that he was "disappointed that ICASA [the Independent Communications Authority of SA] had decided only to issue an invitation to apply for satellite broadcasting, while leaving out digital terrestrial TV (DTT) broadcasting entirely".
His comments and those from Sentech imply the country will not be ready for the 2010 World Cup broadcasting.
"While satellite broadcasting does allow a far greater part of the country to be covered (about 98%), the country needs DTT to ensure reliability and improved services. There is not much more we can do with the 30-year-old equipment," Mpofu said.
As part of its budget proposals, the SABC has requested R1.3 billion to prepare itself for digital broadcasting - an amount similar to what Sentech requested more than a year ago. The National Treasury has allocated R400 million to the SABC for this, while it has allowed Sentech R200 million over a three-year period.
Sentech has also argued that a DTT network can help increase universal telecommunications service access as the network would be able to do far more than only carry broadcasting signals.
SABC CTO Sharoda Rapeti told ITWeb the R1.3 billion the SABC would like to spend is not linked to the R1.27 billion that Sentech had asked for.
"Our funds will be used to upgrade our cameras, recording and editing equipment, and generally preparing ourselves for digital broadcasting," she says.
Rapeti says there should be a dual illumination period, when broadcasts are carried on analogue and digital signals, which should help ease the transition.
MPs also expressed concern about consumers having to buy new TV sets. Mpofu agreed that broadcasters could consider a similar model to the one used by the cellphone operators, in which users are encouraged to change through subsidised handsets.
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