The mess of digital migration

Oct 21, 2012

TELEVISION viewers need not worry about the possibility of facing blank screens as the country is unlikely to beat the December 2012 migration deadline

By David Mugabe

TELEVISION viewers need not worry about the possibility of facing blank screens as the country is unlikely to beat the December 2012 migration deadline from analogue to digital.

Although the regulator, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), is confident of beating the deadline, legal acrimony with the national broadcaster (UBC), bad procurement schedules for set top boxes and a poor public education campaign are some of the hurdles standing in the way of this vital communications project.

With less than three months to the deadline, there is scanty awareness about the process and even the pricing of the set top boxes which convert the digital images.

There are over 1,000,000 TV set owners in the country, with about 70% spread around the metropolis area of Kampala, Entebbe and Jinja.

It is these main urban areas that Godfrey Mutabazi, the UCC chief, says they will role out to first. But despite his optimism, he acknowledges the enormity of the task ahead in the migration.

“It is not a simple thing. We must face reality. At least we shall have Kampala, Jinja and Entebbe. It will be easy to extend this coverage,” Mutabazi said.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has set 2015 as the deadline for migrating from analogue to digital. 

The switching off of analogue migration will open up more spectrum not just for broadcasters, but also for telecoms who can deploy 4G technology which is mainly for data.

Digital migration brings with it better quality pictures, frees spectrum, which allows for more channels, as well as new opportunities for business for service providers.

Turning digital will create new revenue streams for broadcasters, create jobs and drive creativity for content producers. 

In the UK, about 10 billion pounds is expected to be raised from 4G operators operating on the new spectrum, while the sale of TV sets rises by 20%. 

But just last week, the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) sued UCC over what it termed as breach of a memorandum of understanding, which makes UCC, the regulator, appear like a competitor.

According to observers, this legal battle and fight for control of the process highlights the conflict that this lucrative project has caused.

According to available information, it takes six months to make the DVB T2 set top boxes that UCC has gone for. It, therefore, means that in six months, and on a grand scale, these boxes cannot be delivered over night.

Mutabazi says vendors of set top boxes (decoders) have to be licensed by UCC so that they meet the specifications.

But information reaching UCC indicates that private players may not be aware of this.

There are also unconfirmed reports that a Chinese supplier is secretly being sourced to provide the decoders.

There is also no concerted public education programme regarding the roll out save for just a few billboards and newspaper adverts.

“Information and communication is crucial and needs to start two to three years before switch off,” says Koenie Schutte from the Southern African Digital Broadcasting Association, the body overseeing the migration process.

Although countries like Norway and the Netherlands took shorter times to migrate, the UK took 14 years.

“The key learning lesson is that warning people early helps reduce resistance,” said BethThoren, the UK director for communications.

Whether the regulator will conduct a national or regional migration also remains to be seen, but the migration process is an industry wide undertaking, with the biggest stakeholder being the public who are supposed to buy the decoders.

The other key stakeholder is the content producers, who are undoubtedly going to be the big beneficiaries when the spectrum is opened up.

Recipe for successful migration

Dave Hagen, the MultiChoice technical director, says migration is consumer-led and consumers will only migrate if there is attractive and relevant content.

Also, decoders must be affordable and the whole country must be involved in the process. 

Experts also advise that roadshows to generate local and political support is necessary alongside information leaflets.

Impact of failure to meet deadline

East Africa had set 2012 as its deadline, but only Rwanda has come out clear to state that the deadline will not be met. But it is not only East Africa grappling with the migration process.

The whole of Africa is still debating on what decoder to use and whether the single distributor should be independent.

Yet countries that do not meet the 2015 deadline have to switch off their analogue so as not to interfere with their neighbours who have completed the process.

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