ICASA opens mobile tender
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has opened a tender for licences to provide mobile digital video broadcasting services in South Africa. Two metropolitan DVB-H multiplexes are on offer
Currently, frequencies are available in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town and as the digital transition takes place and analogue services are switched off, more frequencies are expected to become available
Applicants must have a TV broadcasting or electronic communications licence to participate in the tender. The closing date for applications is 27 February 2009.
Source: Telecompaper
Item added: 16th December 2008




DTT trial launched
A Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT) trial began on the 1st November when Sentech switched on the first DVB-T trial transmitter The trial will continue until Mid 2009 when general service transmissions should begin.
Broadcasters are planning to distribute 3000 set top boxes to viewers participating in the trial.
When the service is launched in 2009 it is expected that the DTT platform will provide more free-to-air channels than are currently available as well as one Pay TV channel.
Digital switchover is planned to occur by 2011.
Source: IT Web
Item added: 3rd November 2008


Digital TV proposals by March
The SA Communications department plans to present its proposals on digital television services in South Africa to the cabinet by the end of March, reports Broadband TV News.
One of the key points for the new digital TV legislation will be the decision to include or not to include a Set Top Box subsidy and whether there will be any import restriction on STB’s.
It is also anticipated that there will be a dual analogue/digital transmission phase, which will commence in the November before the final analogue switch off in 2011.
Source: Broadband TV News
Item added: 5th February 2008



South African ASO set for 2011
The government has now approved the timetable for digital switchover. DTT services are set to begin in 2008 and Analogue Switch Off (ASO) will take place on November 1st 2011, after a three-year period of dual broadcasting.
With the launch of DTT services, viewers will be able to access many new television programme services including regional programmes.
According to government spokesperson Themba Maseko, "The Department of Trade and Industry will interact with television manufacturers and retailers to sensitise them to the conversion."
Source: Business report
Item added: 26th February 2007

MTN teams up with Naspers for DVB-H mobile service
Sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest cellular operator, MTN recently announced that it had teamed up with media firm Naspers to offer Africa’s first mobile TV service.
Naspers subsidiary, Multichoice, has been trialing a DVB-H pilot service for some time and will now be able to go forward and launch a commercial service with MTN, but first they need a licence from the S A communication regulator.
MTN said that it would be selling Samsung P910 TV enabled cell phones and that customers buying the unit will be able to sign up for a free trial access to the 11 channel DVB-H service. The Naspers pay-TV service is called DStv.
Multichoice hope to get a licence for the service in the first quarter of 2007, however according to some   reports t he Independent Communications Authority of SA is going through applications from 18 companies bidding for licences, and the regulator's acting broadcasting general manager, Sipho Tsotetsi, expects the processes to be finalised in June next year.
Source: Reuters and Business Report
Item added: 17th October 2006

Digital Switchover plans announced
Broadcast network operator Sentech has announced plans for the rollout of DTT services in South Africa.
The existing network infrastructure is being replaced and 184 analogue sites will be upgraded to digital.
DTT services will be available on two multiplexes offering viewers access to seven television services, Mnet, e-TV, 3 SABC national services and 2 SABC regional services.
The planned DTT population coverage is as follows:
56% in 2008
78% in 2009
92% in 2010
Analogue switch will be around 2015 in line with the latest RRC agreements. HDTV is not expected on the DTT platform before analogue switch off.
Main source: Digitag quoting IT Web as source
Item added: 5th September 2006

The Future of TV might be in the box
The SABC could finally have a cure for unpaid television licences if the “Digital Television Committee” which also includes the department of communication (DOC) decides to introduce set-top-boxes that require the use of smart cards to watch TV.
Sentech and the DOC may decide that the broadcast service provider delivers free-to-air and unencrypted services but the disadvantage is that the provider has no control over who uses the service. If the service were encrypted then viewers would need to obtain and pay for a smart card which could be a new way to ensure that all users purchase a TV licence in an indirect way.
Sentech is reported to have set its DTT coverage target at 92% by 2010. Other figures to emerge are that TV households in South Africa are estimated to be 7 million a figure which is expected to increase to 10 million by 2010. It was also said that it was unlikely that any HDTV services would be contemplated until after the digital changeover has taken place.
Source: Business report.co.za
Item added: 26th June 2006

DVB-H trial extended
First started in October 2005 to cover the central Johannesburg area, the DVB-H trial has now been expanded to cover, the capital city, Pretoria and the main highway connecting the two cities. The next area to be covered is Soweto, one of the biggest suburbs in the south of Johannesburg.
The trial, run by Multichoice SMS, is an SFN based system carrying 14 video services and is available to a closed user group, selected by a market research company. The trial is both to test the technology as well as user behaviour.
Source: Multichoice article published in DVB-Scene Number 18
Item added: 6th June 2006

Digital goes the Aerial Route
Its all systems go for Digital Terrestrial Television in South Africa according to mybroadband.co.za Quoting Sentech Executive Johan Raath the article gives a comprehensive view of possibilities and the cost of the transition.
The national upgrade to DTT is expected to take three years and the process will start later this year according to Raath.
Sentech'slargest transmiters covering 70% of the population will be upgraded first.
A period of simulcasting digital and analogue transmissions will be necessary but this will be kept to a minimum due to the high costs of maintaining two services. 
Further down the line DTT will allow the introduction of HDTV, but for now SDTV services take priority. 
Source: mybroadband.co.za
Item added: 25th January 2006

Treasury funds digital broadcasting network upgrade
The Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel, confirmed that funds will made available to digitise the South African television broadcasting signal distribution network according to signal provider Sentech.
Sentech requested capital from the government to upgrade and digitise the existing analogue network which has been in use since 1976 and is now proving very costly to maintain.
Another key reason for the upgrade is to enable the country to broadcast the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup tournament to the rest of the world.
Sentech are also reported to be very interested in the possibilities of the DVB-H standard for broadcasting TV to mobile handsets.
South Africa has around 7 million TV households according to Johan Raath, the spokesman for Sentech, who released the funding information.
Source: Engineering news za
Item added: 15th November 2005

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Multichoice to mount mobile TV
MultiChoice Africa has announced its intention to launch a series of new technologies, including Mobile TV, at a briefing to journalists assembled for  the CNN/Multichoice African Journalist of the Year award in Nairobi Kenya.
Multichoice Africa, announced that it would begin trials in August 2005 using the Digital Video Broadcasting specification, DVB-H, to deliver television to mobile handsets.
Source: Mobile Africa
Last page update: 29th June 2005

South Africa to set up a digital task team
Communication Minister Ivy Matsepe Casaburri announced in a recent statement that the government intended to set up a "migration task team" to look at digitising the country's analogue infrastructure. This follows previous calls from Sentech and the Communications Portfolio Committee to switch to digital equipment. The working group is to comprise of representatives from industry, the regulator Icasa, consumers, business and the government. It is reported that Sentech's estimate for the cost of new digital transmitters is in the order of R268 million.
Source: www.iol.co.za
Item added: 2nd June 2005

Draft Terrestrial Broadcast Frequency plan published

The Independent Communication Authority of South Africa (Icasa) has published a draft terrestrial broadcast frequency plan for public comment. This sets out the basis on which new broadcasting licences can be granted.
Already , Orbicom and Electronic Media Network (M-Net) have been conducting DTT tests in Johannesburg, Kyalami and Helderkruin.

SABC has allocated R400 million for the next three years to progressively migrate to a digital network. The transition must be completed by 2010.
Source: Business Report
http://www.busrep.co.za

Previous

South Africa makes progress with DTT

South Africa continues to make progress in the transition to digital terrestrial broadcasting using DVB-T.
SADIBA (Southern Africa Digital Broadcasting Association) formed in 2001 made a firm recommendation for DVB-T in a report published in January 2002.
Although the DBAB (Digital Broadcasting Advisory Board) was expected to make an announcement on all digital transitions this has not yet occured. DAB services however are progressing and DVB-T trial transmissions are taking place in Johanesburg by both Sentech and Orbicomm.

Sentech was first on the air in February 2000 with 5 fixed and 2 mobile targeted transmissions.
The fixed service uses 8k, 64QAM modulation with a 1/32 guard period and a 2/3 FEC. The mobile service uses 2k, QPSK with a 1/2 FEC and a 1/4 guard. Both configurations which are in an 8MHz UHF channel are subject to change.

The Orbicom transmission also uses an 8MHZ UHF channel and has been radiating since November 2001. Both fixed and mobile transmission experiments are taking place.
8k, 64QAM modulation with a 1/32 guard and an FEC of 2/3 is used for fixed reception with 2k, 16QAM, a 1/8 guard and an FEC of 2/3 used for mobile tests. These settings are also varied so that effect of different configurations can be assessed.

It has been reported that the digital to analogue transition will take 10-15 years.

For more information look at the following website http://www.sadiba.co.za/pages/home/sa_status.html

DVB endeavour to ensure that the information presented on these pages is correct, however we are not able to guarantee its accuracy. If you have additional information or corrections please sent an e-mail to dvb@dvb.org

Last page update: 16th November 2008, Barry Tew