Sentech, SABC pull up lame at 11th hour

[rpm]

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Telecoms/1303.html

 

[Moederloos]

A case of only just realising its "money out" not "money in" - at least in the short term.

Or perhaps they expected everyone with a TV to be forced to pay them?

 

[stoke]

Sentech already operates the Vivid pay television platform.

Duh.

 

[dominic]

headline is misleading - they were always lame

 

[Ricard]

Sentech already operates the Vivid pay television platform.

Which hasnt been upgraded in 10 years.. Vivid is so cracked you dont even need a smartcard for it anymore!

 

[Moederloos]

Whats Vivid?

 

[Ricard]

Whats Vivid?

The - (DR) on the profit margin is quite vivid

 

[XCentricdave]

Hmmm, and On Digital Media, are they the same On Digital that launched Digital Terrestrial TV in the UK? And subsequently went out of business because the subscriber numbers were nowhere near as high as anticipated?

Lets hope that they learned their lessons well:
- Areas with marginal reception really struggle with digital terrestrial tv;
- People may have to upgrade their antenna and cabling for reception to be okay.
- You can still watch a noisy analogue tv signal.
- Most people really will not pay very much for tv services.

It'll be fun to watch. Digital TV was launched in the UK about 10 years ago, and the first analogue transmitter is scheduled to be switched off this year, and switch over to be complete by 2012.

And SA is going to have it completed in less than three years. Excellent! The main barrier is the cost to people on the ground of getting set top boxes and new aeriels set up, and the subsequent outcry about access being denied to people who cannot afford etc etc. Watch this space.

 

[dominic]

! The main barrier is the cost to people on the ground of getting set top boxes and new aeriels set up, and the subsequent outcry about access being denied to people who cannot afford etc etc. Watch this space.

- i am guessing that telkom media are confident about their ability to handle this...been doing this for years

 

[Tns]

Which hasnt been upgraded in 10 years.. Vivid is so cracked you dont even need a smartcard for it anymore!

true true and so can iredeto2 too apparently.

 

[Pavlov]

Sentech / InfraCo

Why apply for a license via the official process when you can just have the law changed. If Infraco can automatically get a license why do we think the SABC or Sentech will not? Same rules?

 

[Summoner]

Vivid is great!.......for the aged and very religious

 

[Ricard]

true true and so can iredeto2 too apparently.

Aparently

Just nagravision is so old hat its not a challenge anymore to the hacking guru's

 

[AirWolf]

Hell, I've never even heard of this Livid Vivid service

Government had their fingers in too many pies and had to back down on some fronts

 

[Gatecrasher]

Why apply for a license via the official process when you can just have the law changed. If Infraco can automatically get a license why do we think the SABC or Sentech will not? Same rules?

OT, but Infraco were not granted a license at all. Rather, they were given approval to operate as a subcontractor to Neotel under Neotel's license. During the exclusive supply period they will have to apply for a license from ICASA.