{"id":11698,"date":"2010-03-08T13:08:00","date_gmt":"2010-03-08T11:08:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2010-03-08T13:08:00","modified_gmt":"2010-03-08T11:08:00","slug":"sa-s-iptv-obstacles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/telecoms\/11698-sa-s-iptv-obstacles.html","title":{"rendered":"SA\u2019s IPTV obstacles"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although a number of local stakeholders have expressed interest in offering IPTV<\/a> services on a large scale the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has explained that the delay in the roll out of these services is due to a lack of sufficient broadband uptake and infrastructure.<\/p>\n

In a recently published discussion document on the regulation of IPTV within South Africa the regulator detailed the obstacles faced by developing countries in rolling out broadband based video services.<\/p>\n

Within the document ICASA defines IPTV as “television content that is delivered through computer networks using the IP protocol. IPTV is offered over closed content distribution networks where the network operator controls the technical parameters of the operation”.<\/p>\n

In simple terms this means content which is delivered to the user over a closed network which uses a broadband connection for the delivery of video services.<\/p>\n

Local IPTV delay<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to ICASA “the delay of IPTV services in developing countries is usually due to the minimal uptake of broadband services, limiting the entry into the market by telecoms providers”.<\/p>\n

In many developed countries telecoms providers are known to offer subscribers triple play services (voice, video and data) through existing fixed data networks.<\/p>\n

According to ICASA one of the catalysts for the growth of IPTV services in developed countries is local loop unbundling (LLU) which is the regulatory process of allowing other telecoms players to use the incumbent’s (Telkom in South Africa) last mile copper infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Currently the regulator is maintaining that this will be achieved by its November 2011 deadline.<\/p>\n

Regulation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although ICASA has not yet committed to a date by which regulation for local IPTV services will be finalised the publication of discussion documents suggests that the process is underway.<\/p>\n

The regulator has however confirmed that these regulations will chiefly focus on the issue of content provided through IPTV networks and the distinction between IPTV and Internet broadcasting.<\/p>\n

Potential players<\/strong><\/p>\n

MultiChoice confirmed in mid 2009 that it had developed an IPTV solution which will be rolled out in gated communities and other areas with existing high speed connections.<\/p>\n

The MultiChoice IPTV system uses a standard DStv satellite stream which is then converted to an Internet Protocol (IP) based service using a DVB over IP converter.  This IP stream is then sent to end users over a high speed IP network.<\/p>\n

Upon announcement MutliChoice CTO Gerdus van Eeden said that the technology is ready to also serve the wider population, but that South Africa’s low broadband speeds and restrictive monthly usage limits are not suitable for true IPTV services.  True IPTV requires consistent speeds in the region of 10 Mbps.<\/p>\n

Incoming pay TV competitors On Digital Media and Super5Media have also expressed interest in offering IPTV services on a broad scale.<\/p>\n

SA’s IPTV obstacles<\/a><\/strong> << Discussion<\/p>\n

Related Links<\/strong><\/p>\n

DSTV IPTV service here soon<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ICASA explains delays with local IPTV rollout<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-telecoms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11698"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11698\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}