Destination 2010: Television is the medium through which football reaches the billions

As the 2010 Soccer World Cup draws inexorably nearer, South Africa again is presented with an opportunity to demonstrate its ability to host a world-class sporting event.

Building on the proven and recognised successes of the 1995 Rugby World Cup and the 2003 Cricket World Cup, the country has established its capability to successfully stage premier international sports spectaculars.

However, as the biggest live event in the world, the FIFA World Cup brings with it new challenges of scale which must also be handled in the context of emerging technologies for broadcasting.

According to Andy Brauer, CTO of Business Connexion, the country`s premier provider of information and communication technology solutions, the sheer enormity of the event which is the World Cup is the basis for the intense media interest in South Africa`s ability to handle the tournament.

"This is an opportunity like none other for us to demonstrate our ability as a country to meet the biggest of challenges," says Brauer.

He points out that the cumulative audience of the 2002 World Cup, across all of the matches, was estimated to be 28.8 billion people, with the final drawing a staggering 1.1 billion people together to witness a single event. That is roughly one sixth of the population of the earth.

"2010 is an opportunity for South Africa to win. It is a unique chance to show more people in the world than ever before who we are, what we are and what we are capable of," says Brauer - and he adds his voice to the many who agree that failure is simply not an option.

"Further than that, it is also an opportunity for southern Africa to gain the attention of the world - our immediate neighbours such as Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique, among others, have much to offer travellers of the world and South Africa will serve as the gateway through the tournament."

Brauer points out that while at its heart, 2010 is about the `beautiful game` of football, the wider ramifications of building stadiums, upgrading infrastructure such as roads, rail and air facilities, organising matches, handling hundreds of thousands of visitors and co-ordinating their schedules, managing transport and logistics, ensuring security and providing information is an example of collaboration on a scale unprecedented in this country.

"Organising this event so that it is a credit and a point of pride is one of FIFA`s core responsibilities, which it is thorough in executing. It is an effort which requires collaboration among thousands of stakeholders, including governments, sponsors, suppliers, hotels, airlines, engineers, building contractors and many more. Across this enormous collaborative spectrum, all persons and entities depend on information and communication technologies, without which the country responsible for hosting the tournament would face almost insurmountable obstacles in preparing its infrastructure and services in relatively short spaces of time," says Brauer.

While most elements of the preparation for the tournament have already been dealt with, inasmuch as planning, tendering and contract allocation is concerned, Brauer says there is an enormously significant component which has yet to be addressed. This component is the essential means by which the world`s soccer fans will get to view their teams battling it out for World Cup glory: television.

Getting the game to more people than ever before is as a result of the TV. However, TV broadcasting is undergoing probably one of the most significant developments since the first coast-to-coast (in the United States) broadcast of colour TV in 1954. That development is high definition TV, or HDTV.

While it ushers in a new era of viewing pleasure, HDTV demands that the infrastructure which is necessary for the creation and transmission of TV programmes is updated to handle the significantly different and considerably more data-intensive signals.

The issue, Brauer, says, is also in the HDTV sets, already today being sold in retail outlets in South Africa and in the rest of the world. "By 2010, hundreds of millions of football fans will have HDTV sets in their homes; these fans expect to see their teams in crystal clarity with Dolby Digital sound, which is an integral element of the new broadcast format," says Brauer.

Converting to HDTV simply is not an option. FIFA takes great pride in every aspect of ensuring that the game is as beautiful as it can be when it reaches the viewer - to the extent that it has insisted that stadiums are constructed in the more appealing areas of South Africa - and it is not about to let down its reputation by allowing anything but the best television signal to reach football fans around the world.

This, says Brauer, has very considerable implications for the country`s national broadcaster - the SABC - as well as Sentech and Telkom, organisations which play key roles in facilitating broadcasts within South Africa and to the rest of the world.

HDTV differs from traditional TV broadcasts in that, as its name implies, it delivers images of an improved definition or resolution. It also carries better sound quality compared with that of `traditional` analogue colour broadcasts.

This is an important development in parallel with the trend towards larger screens, where 42-inch displays are increasingly popular and affordable, (even 50-inch displays are becoming commonplace) and which suffer from a lack of display clarity when receiving low resolution analogue broadcasts.

Brauer explains that HDTV depends on both the signal from the broadcaster and the device receiving it to take advantage of the new display technology. With greater clarity, the picture on screen, especially larger displays, is less blurred and fuzzy, while additional benefits important for sports viewers include smoother motion, and richer and more natural colours. Problems associated with TVs of old are also consigned to the history books: snow, ghosting and picture sparkles do not occur on HDTV. However, analogue TVs are not necessarily ready for the rubbish heap with the advent of the new broadcasting medium: they can receive HDTV broadcasts but must do so through a `set top box` or a PC.

Brauer explains that several ways have been devised to receive digital television. Internationally, consumers are familiar with the concept of digital cable, while locally, most are comfortable with digital satellite. Other standards, such as DMB and DVB-H, allow handheld devices such as mobile phones to receive TV signals. This service is already available in South Africa. "Then the Internet has an enormous role to play too - IPTV, or Internet Protocol TV, allows delivery of HDTV via the Internet Protocol with guaranteed quality of service. If the `standard` Internet is used to receive TV signals this is called Internet TV," he says.

But the issues for South Africa lie in the fact that HDTV achieves its better picture and sound quality by using more bandwidth. This demands that the broadcasting industry, including the SABC and signal distributors (notably Sentech) establish the capacity necessary to carry HDTV signals to every corner of the football watching world.

"As a result, preparing for HDTV demands massive investment and upgrades of the broadcasting and networking infrastructure of the country," says Brauer.

Taking cognisance of the scope of the challenge, a Digital Migration Working Group (DMWG) was established as far back as 1995 to begin preparing the country for the switchover to the improved broadcasting format.

Brauer says this group includes a full spectrum of stakeholders and the participation of specialists in project management, network infrastructure and consulting and outsourcing such as Business Connexion.

"The DMWG is tasked with the practical implementation of digital broadcasting, including aspects such as the approach to switchover, licensing of spectrum (the frequency at which HDTV is broadcast), consumer adoption and an overriding national strategy," he says.

While Brauer points out that issues such as dual broadcasting will obviously be necessary and available to allow those who cannot receive HDTV to still watch analogue television, he says far more pressing issues are presented in terms of technological challenges.

"There are difficulties which must be overcome, such as the reality of spectrum saturation, in terms of which there is not enough available bandwidth to allow for broadcasts, the sourcing, purchasing, configuration and deployment of enabling technology infrastructure countrywide, and the necessity for these extensive projects to be managed closely within limited timeframes, which will support the ultimate, overarching goal of supporting South Africa`s ability to demonstrate that it is world-class in every respect," says Brauer.

Achieving the lofty goals which are an essential element of every aspect of the World Cup are certainly daunting. Across the spectrum of requirements, ICT plays an enormous, transversal role. Brauer points out that more than any other aspect, ICT touches all points of the soccer spectacle, including the essential element of broadcasting capacity.

"As an organisation which has every element of the ICT spectrum within its competency centres, Business Connexion is ready to play its role in providing the necessary expertise and insight to ensure that ICT-related projects are delivered on time, within budget and within the specifications necessary to deliver value to South Africa and the world of soccer fans," he says.

Where HDTV is concerned, Brauer says the concept is a reflection of the so-called convergence of previously separate networks - those of the broadcasters, and the data networks which comprise the Internet. "This is a phenomenon which has also characterised the telephony business; for example, voice over Internet is increasingly accepted by business and consumers alike as an effective method for lower cost communication," he says.

But Brauer adds that the disciplines and expertise required to deploy and operate such networks effectively have changed, too. In this environment, successful service providers must combine skills from both aspects.

Business Connexion brings to bear its recognised networks competency, which includes the specialised communications division and its MPLS network - a specialised, next-generation network capable of handling high volumes of traffic with the necessary QOS. Brauer explains that QOS is an essential element for video (or TV) transmissions, because it ensures that all elements of the picture arrive simultaneously. If they did not, the soundtrack and the pictures would not synchronise.

"Clearly, deploying the infrastructure required for the transmission of HDTV games has to be in place before the first player puts his boot to the ball in the tournament. With little time remaining, it is essential that proved project management capability such as that offered through Business Connexion`s professional services division, is deployed," he says.

This is backed by Business Connexion`s strong relationships with key vendors, giving it the capability to procure the necessary equipment. Its technical and services divisions offer the capability to configure, deploy and support this infrastructure through its nationwide presence.

"Business Connexion believes the World Cup is primarily about the game of soccer. Within that, we believe it is an opportunity to put Africa and South Africa on the global stage as a country capable of producing to the highest standards. We look forward to bringing our expertise and capabilities to bear in this endeavour," Brauer concludes.