{"id":548100,"date":"2006-02-27T06:22:01","date_gmt":"2006-02-27T06:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8888\/wordpress\/technology\/548100-upgrade-will-cut-broadcast-costs.html"},"modified":"2006-02-27T06:22:01","modified_gmt":"2006-02-27T06:22:01","slug":"upgrade-will-cut-broadcast-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/technology\/548100-upgrade-will-cut-broadcast-costs.html","title":{"rendered":"UPGRADE WILL CUT BROADCAST COSTS"},"content":{"rendered":"

"SA is facing a very real chance of a TV blackout," says Sentech executive in the office of the COO, Johan Raath. <\/font><\/p>\n

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Fortunately, government has come to the rescue. The national treasury has agreed to provide the funding necessary for Sentech to build a national digital terrestrial television (DTT) broadcast network. Raath estimates the project will cost about R600m – this figure excludes the cost of digital set-top boxes – and will take about three years to complete. Implementation is scheduled to begin later this year, when the first tranche of funding becomes available. <\/font><\/p>\n

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Raath says the upgrade can’t come soon enough. It has become difficult to source the spare parts Sentech needs to maintain its analogue TV network. <\/font><\/p>\n

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DTT will provide a number of benefits for broadcasters and consumers: <\/font><\/p>\n

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