Digital TV migration: Why do we bother?
South Africa’s migration to digital terrestrial broadcasting has been a torrid affair, with furious debates over standards, standards decisions being reversed, and the inevitable missed deadlines these caused.
Among the questions raised throughout the undertaking was why not switch off terrestrial television broadcasts entirely in favour of satellite broadcasting?
With DStv and TopTV installations typically available for free with a new application, satellite equipment seems to come far more cheaply than the new digital terrestrial television (DTT) set-top box (STB) would cost.
William Stucke, councillor at the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), mentioned these questions and pricing concerns at a recent workshop on frequency spectrum license fees, which was hosted by the regulator.
Stucke listed security concerns as one of the main reasons the South African government didn’t want to consider satellite-only digital broadcasting. This is because we don’t own or control the satellite.
“How valid that is I leave for you to decide,” Stucke said.
It should be noted that ICASA did not advise government on the technology decision. The Department of Communications appointed various bodies over the years such as the Digital Broadcasting Advisory Board, Digital Migration Working Group, and Digital Dzonga to advise on such issues.
On the point of pricing it is also worth noting that DStv and TopTV installations are subsidised on decoder bundles that include an installation voucher.
Johan Koster, executive director of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) said that the general consensus is that a satellite STBs and terrestrial STBs cost about the same.
“A single box capable of receiving both is hugely expensive though,” Koster said.
Broadcasting industry players say that installation costs is where the big difference between satellite and terrestrial television is.
Although the cost of putting up a dish is only slightly more expensive than putting up a terrestrial TV antenna, Koster said that the feeling is that the vast majority of South African households already have an antenna installation in place.
“The majority of these will be used when we migrate to DTT a nd the cost is therefore limited to the STB,” Koster said.
Many households that live close to a transmitter would also be able to receive the signals using indoor antennas similar to today’s bunny ears, just much smaller.
“This is not possible with satellite and you have to get a dish no matter where you live and how strong the signal,” Koster said.
Koster added that a number of households that currently have antennas would unfortunately have to change them because of frequency changes and the like.
“I am not sure what this number is, but it is dependent on the migration plan and the changes in frequencies used in any particular area,” Koster said.
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