Deputy Minister Stella Ndabeni- Abrahams: Radio Days Africa Conference

Speech by Deputy Minister of the Department of Communications, the Honourable Thembisile Stella Ndabeni- Abrahams at the Radio Days Africa Conference at the Wits Club, Braamfontein.

Programme Director
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is an honour and privilege for me to address this important gathering today. Allow me to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to the organisers and funders of this conference. This conference provides us with a very useful platform to exchange ideas, information and experiences about the issues facing radio in a changing environment.

I have been invited to participate in a panel debate on “Creating conditions for digital radio”. 

Ladies and gentlemen

This conference takes place less than a month after the deadline to migrate from analogue to digital broadcasting passed. Let me take this opportunity to emphasise that South Africa is not the only country that did not meet the deadline and it was because of factors that were beyond our control.

It is now public knowledge that court cases filed by media houses in the country over the set-top-box controls have contributed to the delay.

The good news though is that the recent judgement in favour of government by the North Gauteng High Court will enable us to speed up the process of digital migration. I want to take this opportunity to assure everyone here that the migration is going to happen within the next two years.

Digital migration must happen because it is in line with the National Development Plan to create a robust, reliable, secure and affordable ICT infrastructure. The plan calls for a National ICT policy that supports the needs of the economy and the migration from analogue will promote industrial development, job creation and access to information.

Ladies and gentlemen

Our inability to meet the deadline will not result in a blackout or disruptive television signals. We are implementing plans to minimise the potential radio frequency interference as a result of migrating from an analogue to a digital broadcasting system. South Africa has signed bilateral agreements with neighbouring countries in order to minimise cross-border radio frequency spectrum interference.

We have already signed agreements with Lesotho, Botswana and Mozambique and will soon be doing the same with Zimbabwe, Namibia and Swaziland. The purpose of these agreements is to harmonise the use of Radio Frequency Spectrum to ensure that there is no interference. They also include the sharing of migration plans, processes to handle frequency spectrum interference and the release of digital dividends timing.

We have signed these agreements despite the fact that limited interference is likely to come from neighbouring countries because of South Africa's geography. Going forward we are confident that television viewers will not face severe broadcasting disruptions.

Friends

Even though we have not migrated to Digital Terrestrial Television, this has not prevented government from taking concrete steps to introduce digital radio broadcasting. The transition from analogue to digital radio broadcasting has been prioritised and we are doing everything we can to create an enabling environment for the transitioning to be smooth.

There are many advantages and benefits associated with digital radio broadcasting. It will open the airwaves to more radio stations as the current analogue FM signal is already crowded, especially in Gauteng. It will lead to improved audio quality and enable services such as weather, traffic and news to be displayed on radio screens, especially in cars. Other benefits include improved power consumption and lower maintenance costs.

Ladies and gentleman

Government has made steady progress towards making digital radio broadcasting a reality. Government through the state-owned broadcasting signal distributor Sentech and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is working with the broadcasting industry to develop a regulatory framework and commercial model for digital radio in South Africa.

To ensure that we understand operational issues and test technical functionality Sentech has, in partnership with various stakeholders like the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and Southern African Digital Broadcasting Association (SADIBA), conducted digital radio trials to evaluate the Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB+) and Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM). They have given test licences to broadcasters to see if they will be able to broadcast using DAB or DRM.

DAB+ is meant to replace the analogue FM band while DRM will replace the medium-wave or AM band. The trial on DAB+ started in November last year and comprises of 40 public, commercial and community radio stations in both Johannesburg and Pretoria. The trial, which runs for twelve months, will come to an end in October.

On the other hand, the trial on DRM, which is the technology standard used for mediumwave and shortwave transmissions, began in July last year and has been conducted with Radio Pulpit. The trial will end soon and if successful, Radio Pulpit will apply to Icasa for a digital broadcasting licence to start its migration from its current AM band next year. Sentech has also been providing technical expertise and ensured that signals were distributed without cost for the trials to test digital radio broadcasting.

Programme Director

Sentech will in partnership with various stakeholders provide the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) with the joint technical report based on the outcomes of the trials. This report will help us determine what has worked and what has not. It will enable us to develop a roadmap for a regulatory framework, policy proposals and commercial model for digital radio in the country.

Government will start engaging various stakeholders on the policy proposals after the conclusion of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) World Radio Communication Conference (WRC-15). The conference, which is held every three to four years, will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2 to 27 November 2015.

The conference will be used to review, and if necessary, revise the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the use of the radio-frequency spectrum and the geostationary-satellite and non-geostationary-satellite orbits.

We are also taking note of the success stories from other developing countries like India, Brazil and developed countries to ensure that our move to digital radio is in line with the best in the world. Once we are sure of our case studies and cost benefit analysis, we will launch digital radio in South Africa.

In closing

It is clear from above that we are on the right track towards laying a strong foundation for the smooth introduction of digital radio broadcasting. I am confident that government will soon start developing a policy proposal based on the findings of trials and discussions from the World Radio communication Conference (WRC-15).

Today I am also here to listen and learn from the discussions. The useful and relevant information I am going to gain here will help us ensure that digital radio is introduced smoothly and without challenges.

Once again I would like to extend my deep gratitude to the organisers for this successful and fruitful engagement.

I thank you.

Enquires:
Senzeni Ngubane
E-mail: senzeni@doc.gov.za
Cell: 082 934 4658

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