Digital TV uncertainty
The Department of Communications (DoC) recently announced among much fanfare that SA started the migration from Terrestrial Television (ATT) to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) on 1 November.
According to the DoC, Sentech had to ensure that there was DTT coverage in the areas determined by the broadcasters in conjunction with the DoC on 1 November.
DTT was switched on in line with the Cabinet’s decision on 21 February 2007 that the migration from ATT to DTT shall commence on 1 November 2008 and end on 1 November 2011.
This however begs the question as to whether the recent DTT switch-on was as monumental an event as it was made out to be or more of a publicity stunt to satisfy Government that the country’s DTT migration plans are on track.
Industry doubts
According to one industry source the actual digital TV transmitters which will ultimately form part of the country-wide DTT rollout have not even arrived in SA yet. This source is skeptical about the recent DTT switch-on, saying that it is likely a test transmitter rather than an actual DTT rollout.
Another industry source said that while there are a few primary sites with active DTT transmitters, users should not expect to see anything more than a test signal if they can get their hands on an imported set-top-box to make use of this digital broadcast.
The main problem however does not seem to be the DTT rollout itself, but rather the unavailability of set-top-boxes. Without these set-top-boxes, stations like eTV and M-Net will be hesitant to invest in the infrastructure needed to broadcast their TV services in digital format since consumer will not be able to use this digital broadcast.
Sentech responds
Sentech, which is ultimately responsible for the country-wide rollout of CTT, said that they switched on three transmitters on 1 November. These digital TV transmitters are located on the Sentech Tower, Kameeldrift in Pretoria and Alverstone in Durban.
Sentech said that “as this phase is currently a test phase implemented by broadcasters, only those who will be issued with test or evaluation set-top-boxes (STB) will be able to receive the signal.” The general public will therefore not be able to view the DTT channels until the broadcasters have done a commercial launch by mid 2009.
According to Sentech it is currently distributing six key DTT channels. These key channels include SABC1, SABC2, SABC3, e-tv and two other SABC channels which Sentech did not want to disclose.
Set-top-box availability
According to Sentech, people can not yet purchase STB’s in South Africa as they have not been launched commercially yet.
“It should be noted that Sentech is not directly involved in the implementation and distribution of STB’s and this question should be posed to the SABC STB work group as well as the SABC,” Sentech said.
November 2011 deadline
Questions have been raised about the ambitious November 2011 deadline for the switch off of analogue TV broadcasting, but Sentech is quietly confident that this deadline is not unreachable.
“We have always indicated that by November 2011, 92% of the population will be covered by a DTT signal which is the same coverage currently provided by SABC2. We will replicate the coverage of SABC 2 by November 2011,” said Sentech.
Sentech further said that additional DTT transmitters will be rolled out once clear directives have been received from Government as well as the key broadcasters.
“Sentech is preparing several other transmitter stations for switch-on. Roll-out will be done in different phases and obviously one would start with a few transmitter stations and as time goes by increase roll-out significantly,” Sentech said.
The Department of Communications was asked for comment, but did not respond by the time of publication.
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