Digital broadcasting on track: Minister | The New Age Online

Phuti Mosomane and Sapa

The switch to digital television broadcasting is on track, Communications Minister Dina Pule told MPs on Tuesday.

"I want to affirm to this House that we are on course on the DTT [digital terrestrial television] process," she said in the opening debate on her department's budget in the National Assembly.Pule said "substantial progress" had been made during the past financial year towards implementation of the broadcasting digital migration policy.The deadline for the switch - which will require television viewers to purchase a set-top box (STB) to interpret the digital signal -- is June 2015.On the STBs, Pule said there was enough capacity to manufacture these locally."We shall finalise the selection process of suitable STB manufacturers in the first quarter of this financial year."The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa had started to finalise DTT regulations."It is envisaged that the final gazette will be published in June 2012."Pule said the SA Broadcasting Corporation, Sentech, and the Universal Service and Access Agency of SA would play a key role in helping the department to deliver digital broadcasting to the country.Sentech had already achieved digital signal coverage to more than 60 percent of the population on the DVB-T2 transmission standard."We have launched the DTT awareness campaign, where we are educating the South African public to understand what digital broadcasting means, and the need for them to take action," Pule said.Implementation of digital broadcasting migration has been topical recently as the switch-over date approaches.

Addressing The New Age Business briefing in March, Pule said the migration to digital TV meant that people would get better quality pictures and sound and a wider content offering on their devices.

“We are on course to launch digital migration in the third quarter of this year. State-owned enterprises like the SABC, Sentech, Universal Service and Access Agency of South Africa (Usaasa) will play a key role in assisting the department to deliver digital broadcasting in the country. Sentech has already achieved digital signal coverage of 60% of the population,” she said.With digital migration she said the government wants to facilitate the entry of 1000 SMMEs into the electronics manufacturing sector.“These SMMEs would either compete or cooperate with existing and larger electronics manufacturers. The decoders will be manufactured locally,” Pule said.phutim@thenewage.co.za

Source: Digital broadcasting on track: minister | The New Age Online