Concern over digital switchover for 2010

Another comment posted elsewhere about it being crowded around the trough rings a bell.
There was a very interesting bit in The Times, 4 Feb 2008, Opinion. Justice Malala Monday Morning Matters.
 
Committee members also criticised power given to Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri to authorise landing rights of the undersea cable and revoke them, as she would be both “referee and player”.
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Hasnt that always been the case?
 
However, communications department senior manager of policy Mashila Matlala said the intention of the guidelines was to ensure Matsepe-Casaburri was kept informed on the shareholding and ownership structures of undersea cable companies, as this could have national security implications for SA.
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But only having two cables is far worse than just not letting any cables land . They are talking such BS that nobody else believes. But they will stay in positions of power in the communications department and continue to absolutely mess things up...
 
Yes there's concern, yes there's poor planning (at the DoC, really?!), but wtf does this have to do with the world cup?

Concern is mounting that SA might miss the deadline to have a fully functioning digital broadcasting system in time for the Soccer World Cup.
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This is just the worst kind of journalism. There is no deadline related to the world cup, the world cup doesn't need DTT - this is sensationalist journalism and irritating - I wish they'd stick to the point at hand: The DoC is inefficient and patently incompetent, you don't need to add anything to the story.
 
arf9999 said:
Yes there's concern, yes there's poor planning (at the DoC, really?!), but wtf does this have to do with the world cup?

This is just the worst kind of journalism. There is no deadline related to the world cup, the world cup doesn't need DTT - this is sensationalist journalism and irritating - I wish they'd stick to the point at hand: The DoC is inefficient and patently incompetent, you don't need to add anything to the story.
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Are you sure SA didn't promise a digital broadcasting system? Sure all those americans want it in HD and alot of money is spent on HD equipment. If SA cant deliver then it's money "wasted", and thats what it's all about really.
 
DTT /= HD. The digital switch-over relates to terrestrial broadcast to South Africans. It has nothing to do with acquisition in HD for overseas markets. These are two completely different issues.
 
all these people are doing really is money, dear old ivy is rolling in it.
 
from what i recall one of the requirements for the swc is that we have digital broadcasting.

on a side note. why is it only now an issue that ivy is referee and player in the telecoms field? this has always been the case.
 
What's with the f*cking national security comments by officials these days? Who the **** is going to attack this place? The Zimbabweans?
 
Digital switch-over...ahh..err...you mean taking the means to watch broadcasts cheaply away from all the poor South African's and forcing them to pay a subscription fee in order to further line the pockets....

ahh, yes, that sounds better...:sick:
 
Ah yes, over promise and under deliver.... it's the South African way. We'll say yes now to make them happy, and blame someone or something else later, if that fails, we'll blame appartheid. Problem solved, crises overted.
 
arf9999 said:
Yes there's concern, yes there's poor planning (at the DoC, really?!), but wtf does this have to do with the world cup?

This is just the worst kind of journalism. There is no deadline related to the world cup, the world cup doesn't need DTT - this is sensationalist journalism and irritating - I wish they'd stick to the point at hand: The DoC is inefficient and patently incompetent, you don't need to add anything to the story.
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It's a self-imposed deadline. They said a while ago that they wanted to switch off analog by whenever-it-is, and now it's looking like they won't be able to do it. The other deadline is that they obviously want to broadcast the world cup digitally - which they can do without switching over completely, but it sounds like they're struggling to get the infrastructure in place even for that.

I know it has to be done eventually, and the rest of the world is doing it, but how many people are out there with ancient tv's, who will now have to buy a set-top box just to keep watching the 'free' channels? From people in shacks to people in old age homes to just ordinary people who don't feel the need to upgrade to the latest and greatest and biggest tv every year or so.
 
CathJ said:
It's a self-imposed deadline. They said a while ago that they wanted to switch off analog by whenever-it-is, and now it's looking like they won't be able to do it.
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I agree, but they were never going to be able to from day one. Every country that has followed this path has had to extend their deadlines and most of them were not as ambitious as SA. Given the ineptitude at the DoC and the underresourcing of Sentech to do the project, failure was always the only option.
The other deadline is that they obviously want to broadcast the world cup digitally - which they can do without switching over completely, but it sounds like they're struggling to get the infrastructure in place even for that.
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Obvious to whom? Evidently to the journalist but not to me. The deadline for analogue switch-off is 2011, no need to mention the world cup.

I know it has to be done eventually, and the rest of the world is doing it, but how many people are out there with ancient tv's, who will now have to buy a set-top box just to keep watching the 'free' channels? From people in shacks to people in old age homes to just ordinary people who don't feel the need to upgrade to the latest and greatest and biggest tv every year or so.
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This is the real reason for the delay... who is going to pay the R500 for the stb?
 
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