Programme Director,
Ms Winnie Magagula - Honourable Minister of ICTs for Swaziland,
Professor Tim Unwin - Secretary General of the Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation,
Stephen Ngubane - Chairperson of ICASA,
CEOs and Chairpersons - Telecommunication organisations,
Broadcast Regulators and Policy-Makers - Mauritius, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia and Nigeria and other countries,
Members of the CTO,
Government Officials and Representatives,
Ladies and gentlemen.
Good morning and welcome to South Africa. It is indeed a pleasure to address you this morning. It is a wonderful week to be in our country. Last night South Africa hosted the final of the African Cup of Nations. It was a fitting end to a thrilling three weeks that has captured the hearts of our country and continent, as well as many admirers from around the world.
The first African Cup was held in 1957 and was captured on a grainy black-and-white newsreel. Only three teams participated and not many people had heard of African football.
The 2013 African Cup of Nations is expected to surpass the 6,6 billion cumulative viewership figures of the 2012 tournament. Today African football is celebrated worldwide and the continent’s soccer stars ply their trade across the globe. If this is what television can do for football, just imagine what the switchover to digital broadcasting can do for other sectors of the African economy.
Ladies and gentlemen,
South Africa has been preparing for digital broadcasting for some time now.
In October last year we hosted our Proof of Concept launch in the Northern Cape. It showcased our ability to broadcast digital television in an area notorious for its difficulty in doing so, the SKA or Square Kilometre Array territory.
During the launch we displayed both our ability to broadcast both DTT or Digital Terrestrial Transmission and DTH (Digital-to-Home) transmission. The Department of Communications, together with its reporting organisations is ready to switchover to digital broadcasting.
Of course recent events have placed a spanner in the works of our carefully laid plans. The Department of Communications is consulting with existing broadcasters and the regulator ICASA on the role of each party in the implementation of the conditional access as per the court judgement.
An agreement between all parties is imminent. This will see the DTT project gain full traction over the next few weeks with the department being confident that commercial DTT will launch this year. In the meantime work continues behind the scenes.
We are committed to finding a solution that will ensure that we fast track the process of rolling out DTT. In this regard, I have instructed the Department of Communications to withdraw our appeal against the South Gauteng High Court decision to grant control of the conditional access to free to air broadcasters.
We have taken this decision to illustrate our goodwill in the discussions we are having with our broadcasting partners.
We urge all involved to do their best to ensure that DTT is rolled out as quickly as possible to enable South Africa to take her pride of place amongst the leading knowledge and information countries of the world.
Our signal distributor Sentech is on track to have over 80 percent DTT coverage by March this year. Sentech has worked feverishly to achieve the set targets. Our other role-player in the broadcasting landscape is the public broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). They have also been planning for the advent of digital television.
One of the spin-offs resulting from the launch of DTT is the opportunity for the local content industry to flourish.
The SABC has been developing capacity at regional level in all provinces to ensure that it is able to cater for the increased demand for content, both at a technological level and at production level. We expect that this sector will create various job opportunities and stimulate economic development.
Another player in South Africa’s digital switchover process is the South African Post Office.
The Post Office will be responsible for the distribution of decoders or set-top boxes. This will also result in further job creation to ensure that this process is rolled out smoothly.
Regulators and broadcasters,
The dawn of the digital era in 2015 heralds the beginning of a new opportunity. The last few years have witnessed an unprecedented growth in internet usage on the African continent.
Currently seven percent of the African population are internet users, translating into over 51 million users in Africa. Much of this is through mobile internet use.
The impact of broadband on the economy in increasing growth and creating employment has been well documented by the International Telecommunications Union and other global bodies.
The 2012 State of Broadband report by the United Nations has indicated some of the benefits of increased broadband penetration.
Broadband improves the lives of people through the facilitation of distance education and providing more opportunities for women.
The World Bank has estimated that a 10 percent increase in broadband penetration, would yield a 1.21 and 1.38 percent increase in gross domestic product (gdp) growth, on average, for high-income and low/middle-income countries, respectively. South Africa is in the process of finalising its Broadband Strategy and Implementation Plan.
A study commissioned by software developer Citrix revealed that an increase of as little as 5% in the mobility of the workforce, information and knowledge, through improved transport links across South Africa and a better broadband and mobile communications infrastructure, could mean that the average GDP per capita in South Africa increases by 40% from R10 500 to R14 670 per year.
Distinguished guests,
The unlocking of the digital dividend presents us with a unique opportunity that has the potential to allow African economies to boost their already impressive growth rates. We are suggesting that the release of this spectrum that should be dedicated to the use of mobile broadband.
A December 2011 report on the benefits of releasing spectrum for mobile broadband in sub-Saharan Africa, commissioned by the GSMA, indicates that mobile broadband has the potential to strengthen economic growth and social development in the region.
The report opines the benefits of releasing the digital dividend and the 2.6 GHz spectrum by 2015. This would result in an overall annual increase of GDP BY US$82 billion by 2025 and up to 27 million additional jobs by 2025.
The impact on poverty in the region is also exceptional with a further 40 million people lifted out of poverty should spectrum be released for mobile broadband.
The United Nations Broadband Commission has recognised the importance of broadband and has issued a global challenge "to ensure that...40% of households in developing countries are using broadband internet by 2015."
In Africa, broadband internet means mobile broadband. Mobile networks now reach 90 percent of Africans and offer a cheaper way of delivering the internet to them.
I am urging governments in sub-Saharan Africa to prioritise releasing spectrum for mobile broadband. We have the opportunity to ensure that Africa’s staggering growth rate maintains and increases the momentum it has had over the last decade. Last year African Ministers agreed to 80 percent broadband coverage by 2020.
The releasing of spectrum for mobile broadband has the potential to exceed this commitment. The switchover to digital broadcasting has the ability to change the face of our continent into that of an economic powerhouse. Let us use the opportunity to do so.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I did say that it is a wonderful week to be in South Africa. On Thursday President Zuma delivers the State of the Nation Address and it will certainly spell out the future direction our country is moving in.
This also applies to digital broadcasting which has traversed a long and arduous route in our country. Fortunately the end is now in sight and we in South Africa are on the cusp of realising the benefits of the switchover to digital broadcasting. We have started our digital awareness campaigns and are ready to make 2013 the year when the switchover to digital broadcasting happens.
I recently returned from the World Economic Forum where South Africa's leadership role on the African continent was recognised.
The presence, for the first time, of several other African countries is an indication of the increasing importance of the African continent in the world’s economy. The African Cup of Nations is only a small element of the best that Africa has to offer. Through digital we can show the world all of our continent’s richness.
I wish you well in your deliberations over the next few days.
Thank you.
