Digital TV migration - why are we doing it?

Anyone wonder where the money is coming from to subsidise the set top boxes (STB's)?

How about the USAF that all licensees, including the telcos, have been forced to pay over the years?

So much more DoC's promise to roll out broadband to ALL areas in our country!
 
Not so long from now the poor and old will use DVB-S and the rest will just stream video over the internet.

Building a massive network of advanced digital repeaters is a colossal waste of money - something that is very scarce in the SA economy.
 
o i have seen more than 5 satellite dishes on some shacks....
 
Rouxenator said:
Not so long from now the poor and old will use DVB-S and the rest will just stream video over the internet.

Building a massive network of advanced digital repeaters is a colossal waste of money - something that is very scarce in the SA economy.
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I think there is still value in broadcast - maybe they just don't need to allocate so much spectrum for this purpose. Surely they are just using the existing analogue towers, but putting up new radios? Aren't the same towers used for radio anyway? Those towers could also be used as wireless backhaul as well for rural wireless networks (from the LTE towers back to these points then microwave or fibre in to the core)?
 
And then have no broadcasts at all to the vast majority of the population?

Really don't think the government will can it just because you say so Roux....
 
Of course they won't can it. But then again, I think no one will condone spending R8.6 billion on it.
 
Rouxenator said:
Of course they won't can it. But then again, I think no one will condone spending R8.6 billion on it.
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You live in a nice rose-tinted little world...

The money will be spent... and it won't be R8.6bn.. it will probably be closer to R15bn at the end of the day.
 
Rouxenator said:
Is it really worth R8.6 billion ?!

http://www.dieburger.com/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Digitale-TV-sein-ruk-sak-20120315

Can it and cut the costs.
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That is why I noted the use of those towers for more than just broadcast of DTT. I would love to see a breakdown of these costs - why can't government ever just issue the projected financials so we can all understand what they are doing??? Perhaps stuff like how much goes in to infrastructure and the expected lifespan for example - hell if most of that money is for the actual towers which can be used for data etc as well and have a minimum life of 50 yrs, then it seems like a bargain.
 
....and yet they can hire capacity on a tin can in space for a fraction of the costs.

....oh wait, they already do that with Sentech's Vivid service.
 
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