TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentral TechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      New Openview channels coming as platform turns profitable

      27 May 2022

      Wapa’s Paul Colmer on why Icasa should open up 6GHz for Wi-Fi

      27 May 2022

      How Broadcom’s blockbuster VMware deal happened

      27 May 2022

      The cost for South Africa to quit its coal habit: R4-trillion – study

      26 May 2022

      Apple is feeling the smartphone industry chill

      26 May 2022
    • World

      Musk sued by Twitter investors for stock ‘manipulation’

      27 May 2022

      Broadcom agrees to buy VMware for $61-billion

      26 May 2022

      Musk pledges more equity to fund Twitter deal

      26 May 2022

      Sony looks beyond the console to PC and mobile gaming

      26 May 2022

      Andreessen Horowitz raises world’s largest crypto fund

      26 May 2022
    • In-depth

      Bernie Fanaroff – the scientist who put African astronomy on the map

      23 May 2022

      Chip giant ASML places big bets on a tiny future

      20 May 2022

      Elon Musk is becoming like Henry Ford – and that’s not a good thing

      17 May 2022

      Stablecoins wend wobbly way into the unknown

      17 May 2022

      The standard model of particle physics may be broken

      11 May 2022
    • Podcasts

      Spectrum auction opens up big growth opportunities – Ruckus Networks

      26 May 2022

      Everything PC S01E03 – ‘The story of Intel – part 1’

      25 May 2022

      The rewarding and lucrative careers to be had in infosec

      23 May 2022

      Dean Broadley on why product design at Yoco is an evolving art

      18 May 2022

      Everything PC S01E02 – ‘AMD: Ryzen from the dead – part 2’

      17 May 2022
    • Opinion

      A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

      19 May 2022

      From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

      19 April 2022

      How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

      8 April 2022

      Cash is still king … but not for much longer

      31 March 2022

      Icasa on the role of TV white spaces and dynamic spectrum access

      31 March 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»Opinion»Duncan McLeod»SADC’s signal of good sense

    SADC’s signal of good sense

    Duncan McLeod By Editor1 December 2010
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email

    [By Duncan McLeod]

    A Southern African task team has recommended the adoption of the updated European standard for digital terrestrial television. Our politicians should waste no time in endorsing this and allowing SA broadcasters to get on with the job of migration.

    After a year of hard lobbying by Brazil and, later, Japan, the region finally looks set to adopt the European standard. A Southern African Development Community (SADC) task team announced in Lusaka, Zambia last week its recommendation of the latest version of the standard, known as DVB-T2.

    SADC had adopted the first iteration of it five years ago and member countries committed themselves, in an agreement with the International Telecommunication Union to switching off analogue broadcasts by mid-2015. But earlier this year SA’s department of communications decided the country — and, by implication, the region — should revisit the decision to adopt the European standard. This appeared to happen because of intense lobbying by Brazil, which had adopted a slightly modified version of the Japanese standard.

    Government’s decision to reconsider the standard — years into the deployment of broadcasting networks based on the European system — was met with howls of outrage from commercial broadcasters M-Net and e.tv. The SABC, which falls under the department of communications, was, not surprisingly, silent on the issue.

    We may never know what inducements the Brazilians offered SA. What is clear is that they were keen to have SADC change its decision so as to drive down the cost of the set-top boxes needed to receive digital broadcasts through the economies of scale that higher production would have brought about.

    It’s not yet absolutely clear whether SA will heed the recommendation by the SADC task team, which left the door open for member states to adopt other standards. But government would be crazy to deviate from what the rest of the region is doing, not least because Southern African countries ought to share technical skills and expertise.

    That said, it appears unlikely SA will adopt the Japanese standard. The bureaucrats and politicians who made the decision to consider alternatives are no longer in office. Communications department director-general Mamodupi Mohlala left after a spectacular fall-out with her minister, Siphiwe Nyanda, who President Jacob Zuma later removed.

    Nyanda’s successor, Roy Padayachie, is altogether more pragmatic, and is likely to pay closer attention to the arguments being made by the commercial broadcasters.

    Despite the delays and confusion caused by government’s decision to review its commitment to the European standard, some good has come out of the process. By adopting the newer DVB-T2, and not the original version, Southern Africa will be at the cutting edge of digital terrestrial broadcasting.

    Though broadcasting signal distributor Sentech is about 50% down the track in deploying a digital network based on the original version of the standard, government should mandate it to upgrade to T2 now, and not leave it till later.

    There are a number of advantages of going to T2 now. Firstly, the newer technology is more spectrally efficient. This means broadcasters can squeeze more channels into the same amount of radio frequency spectrum. And that means more choice for consumers.

    Secondly, the efficiency of T2 means the country can introduce high-definition terrestrial broadcasts. With HD TVs fast becoming the norm — even in lower-income households — it makes sense to use digital migration to introduce as many HD channels as the spectrum will allow.

    Cabinet is expected to decide later this month on the route the country will take. Let’s hope it makes the right call.

    • Duncan McLeod is editor of TechCentral; this column is also published in Financial Mail
    • Read more columns by Duncan McLeod
    • Subscribe to our free daily newsletter
    • Follow us on Twitter or on Facebook
    Duncan McLeod e.tv Jacob Zuma M-Net Mamodupi Mohlala Roy Padayachie SABC Sentech Siphiwe Nyanda
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleTechCentral Tuesday Tipple: photos
    Next Article ZA Tech Show: Episode 138 – ‘Two’s company’

    Related Posts

    New Openview channels coming as platform turns profitable

    27 May 2022

    Everything PC S01E03 – ‘The story of Intel – part 1’

    25 May 2022

    Shock as Mustek CEO David Kan dies

    19 May 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Financial advisers: manage your commission and analyse revenue effortlessly

    27 May 2022

    BT, MTN Business form strategic alliance in Africa

    26 May 2022

    Think like a start-up: how to build a competitive digital enterprise

    26 May 2022
    Opinion

    A proposed solution to crypto’s stablecoin problem

    19 May 2022

    From spectrum to roads, why fixing SA’s problems is an uphill battle

    19 April 2022

    How AI is being deployed in the fight against cybercriminals

    8 April 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.