P Mashile: Digital Broadcasting Switchover Forum 2007

30 January 2007

Icasa is honoured to host the Digital Broadcasting Switchover Forum 2007, an
event organised under the auspices of the Commonwealth Telecommunications
Organisation (CTO) and supported by the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association
(CBA).

It gives me great pleasure to receive delegates from the communications
sector, both from home and afield, who have come to share their experiences and
concerns but most importantly to shape and chart the way forward for a digital
broadcasting switchover public, commercial and community broadcasters, signal
distribution companies, the Department of Communications as policy developers,
regulators as well as industry associations. A warm welcome to Johannesburg,
South Africa.

Protocol requires of me to acknowledge companies that made the event
possible through sponsorship of e-TV as a platinum sponsor and the following
supporting organisations: the National Electronic Media Institute of South
Africa (Nemisa), the Southern African Digital Broadcasting Association
(Sadiba), Digital United Kingdom (UK), Communications Regulators Association of
Southern Africa (Crasa) and the Union of National Radio and Television
Organisations of Africa (URTNA).

Radio broadcasting emerged at a time when the military establishments and
the commercial interests were looking for more "efficient means of controlling
and disseminating information on markets, prices, products and raw materials,"
(Tomaselli et al, 1989).

Commerce, science, the military and governments all took interest in
exploiting the potential of the then new technology of radio broadcasting.

Returning soldiers from the World War I frontlines shared their experience
of engaging in conversations over the airwaves and building their own cheap
radio receivers.

But the establishments (commerce/science/military/government) were also
conscious that the frequency spectrum was a scarce and a limited resource.

The need to control the airwaves then became a strategic imperative and the
creation of an international convention on the proper use of the frequency
spectrum across national borders became more urgent.

It was these developments that led to the establishment of the International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) to allocate frequencies to different countries
and left it to Member-States to enforce the terms of the agreement.

In that way the regulation of communications was institutionalised.

A century or so later, digital technologies have revolutionised
communications.

Multi-channel television is now a reality with the expansion of transmission
networks and so is widespread access to the Internet through terrestrial, cable
and satellite platforms.

All these innovations were made possible by infrastructure capable of
carrying voice, video and data delivered at greater speed than ever before.

High-speed phone lines enable consumers to have a greater choice of services
and families can place grocery orders through television media. This has opened
up vistas for work, play and pleasure.

Digital technologies mitigate the age-old argument for the regulation of the
frequency spectrum, that the frequency spectrum is a scarce and limited
resource.

However, the introduction of digital technologies take place within a
certain milieu of a combination of technological, economic, social and
political factors that tend to shape the main contours of the modern
nation-State as we know it today.

Privatisation, commercialisation, globalisation and localisation are not
just buzzwords but concepts that define the essence of the modern
nation-State.

Mattelart and Siegelub (1983) succinctly captured the dilemma and challenges
posed by a combination of technological, economic, political and cultural
factors on the modern nation-State: "The nation-State is asked not to dissolve
itself in an internationalisation without borders but to manage its national
economic and institutional life in the interest of the multinationals. In this
re-organisation, communication networks within national borders cease being
centripetal (towards the centre) and become centrifugal (away from the
centre)."

The gist of my address is an attempt to highlight some of the challenges
that come with the switchover from analogue to digital technologies as seen
through the eyes of the regulator.

From a regulatory viewpoint, digitisation of broadcasting services raises
the following critical issues with regard to the provision and regulation of
content services:
1. promoting the public interest
2. universal access and service
3. rights of the citizenry and value for money for consumers
4. socio-economic development

1. Promoting the public interest

Chunks of spectrum space would now be available for other usage as networks
and the possibility of multi-channels services become a reality.

From the regulator's viewpoint, the abundant frequency spectrum can now be
deployed to meet a variety of pressing national development goals.

These include nation building, fostering democratic values, strengthening
and promoting cultural diversity and bridging the digital divide.

On terrestrial networks, for example, six or more services can be
multiplexed in the bandwidth provided for a single analogue service.

New technologies may support new services such as high definition television
(HDTV) or mobile television services using digital video broadcasting –
handheld (DVB-H). DVB-H trials were conducted and have met with great
success.

2. Universal access and service

The availability of multi-channel services bodes well for universal access
and service.

This would provide the diverse South African public with choice of content.
As the different channels get to compete for audiences, quality of content
should improve.

However, multi-channel services pose serious challenges to the South African
content producers. The public would expect diversity of content as well as the
production of quality programmes.

It would be a serious indictment on the part of content providers and the
networks to provide our diverse public and audiences with quantities of content
that looks, and sounds the same.

Content should not just be informative, educational and entertaining but
engage the viewer and listener interactively.

Analogue infrastructure also made it difficult to meet the needs of the
country's cultural and linguistic groups. With a multi-channel environment,
South Africa's pluralistic society should be able to express itself and receive
content in their different languages.

With available funding, the SABC 4 and 5 should go a long way in providing
audio-visual content in all the eleven official languages of the country.

Local community media can also complement SABC's services by providing an
outlet for content at a local and community level.

In the same vein, when the advertising cake and the subscriber base get to
grow with disposable income, South Africa should see the introduction of more
commercial services at both regional and local levels.

For all these issues to see the light of day, a collective strategy will
have to be developed to fully address spectrum inefficiencies arising from the
way the analogue terrestrial and digital terrestrial television (DTT) networks
will be planned and operated.

It is imperative to ensure that all households have access to affordable
digital television services and are able to benefit from additional channels,
new interactive services and better picture and sound quality.

3. Rights of the citizenry and value for money for consumers

Core to the broader mandate of the regulator is the protection of the
constitutional rights of the citizenry and to ensure value for money and
quality of service for consumers.

All content should be sensitive to the constitutional rights and cultural
rights of the citizenry, the rights of people with disabilities as well as the
rights of children and women.

All content should strive to give expression to the voice of disadvantaged
groups in society and allow these groups to tell their own story.

Such an approach is consistent with the national goal of universal service
and access as expounded earlier on.

The switchover from analogue to digital technology, from network platforms
to receiver sets will have a direct impact on consumer issues.

Analogue television sets, for example, would require set-top boxes that
would convert the digital signal for reception by an analogue television
receiver set.

Households with video recorders, who wish to record a different television
channel from the one they are watching, would need to replace their video
recorders or buy a set top box to adapt their video recorder.

When analogue transmissions come to an end, consumers will only be able to
view television broadcasts on sets capable of, or adapted to receive digital
signals.

Therefore, the question of affordability of set-top boxes is critical.

Appropriate measures need to be in place for the most vulnerable consumers
who may face loosing television services at switchover.

This transitional measure is to allow a gradual uptake or diffusion of new
digital receiver equipment to trickle down as more and more people get to
acquire digital receiver equipment, and to make sure that South Africa meets
the ITU June 2015 deadline for the completion of the digital switch-over.

4. Promoting socio-economic development

The digital switchover promises to produce the digital dividend by
delivering significant economic and social benefits.

The released spectrum can be re-used for new and innovative services.

From a socio-economic perspective, the benefits of digital switchover
are:
* greater spectrum efficiency would deliver new services that would benefit
both the country's economy and the consumers
* the released spectrum could be used more flexibly for telecommunications
services, as evident in the case of the sharing of code division multiple
access (CDMA) multimedia services in the very high frequency (VHF) broadcasting
spectrum, i.e the 800 MHz bandwidth
* the extension of choice, through free to air television services to
consumers
* investment in digital infrastructure would save distribution networks from
renewing existing analogue infrastructure.

The proliferation of content channels should also see the emergence of a
dynamic and competitive content industry in South Africa. These multi-channels
of content would require the production of content to meet the needs of a
pluralistic audience, not only in terms of cultural, religious and linguistic
backgrounds but also in terms of age, gender, disability and lifestyle.

The independent production sector should rise to the challenge, to produce
quality content in quantities that would meet the demands of the
multi-channels.

South African content should be able to compete head-to-head with content
from the west, other parts of Africa and the rest of the world. Locally
produced content should take its rightful place in the economy of the country
and bring much needed foreign currency.

Digital switchover will result in economic spin-offs for other sectors as
well such as manufacturers, suppliers, retailers and installers. In this way
jobs would be created and sustained in different sectors of the economy and so
will the second economy of small and emerging entrepreneurs.

The switchover to digital technologies offers great opportunities of
addressing the country's social ills as well. Government services by digital
Television (DTV) may provide for a cost-effective delivery of e-government
services to people with no access to broadband.

Conclusion

In conclusion allow me to share with you Icasa's new regulatory framework as
stipulated in the Electronic Communications Act.

The primary objectives of the Act are to provide for the regulation of
electronic communications and broadcasting services in the public interest and
for that purpose to amongst others:
* ensure efficient use of the radio frequency spectrum
* encourage the development of multi-channel distribution system in the
broadcasting framework
* promote the interest of consumers with regard to the price and quality of
services
* develop and promote small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and
co-oporatives
* promote the development of public, commercial and community broadcasting
services that are responsive to the needs of the public
* ensure that broadcasting services viewed collectively:
a) are provided by persons or group of persons from a diverse range of
communities in South Africa
b) promote the provision and development of a diverse range of sound and
television services on a national, regional and local level that cater for all
the language and cultural groups
c) provide information, education and entertainment
d) later for a broad range of services, specifically for the programming needs
of children, women, the youth and the disabled
e) ensure that the in the provision of public broadcasting services, the needs
of language, cultural and religious groups are duly taken into account.

In an environment of converging technologies, Icasa's approach is one of
technological neutrality in regulating the sector.

The ECA incorporates individual and class licences that will relate to
electronic communication network services, electronic communication services
and broadcasting services as well as radio frequency licences. The new
licensing framework would allow competition at wholesale and retail levels in
both network and services. By fiat, monopolies in the sector are done away
with.

Therefore, the digital broadcasting switchover is a panacea for meeting and
achieving the objects of the Act as enumerated above.

Finally, let me put it on record that Icasa will do everything in its power
to support the commitment made by the South African government to the ITU to
ensure that by 2015 the digital broadcasting switchover is successfully
completed.

With these few words, I wish you well in your deliberations as you chart the
way forward for the broadcasting sector.

However, do spare some time in your tight schedule to visit some of South
Africa's tourist sites within the Gauteng province, and this include the
Apartheid Museum, Marupeng, Cradle of Humankind, and the Hector Peterson
Memorial Site.

I thank you!

Issued by: Independent Communications Authority of South Africa
30 January 2007
Source: Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (http://www.icasa.org.za/)