Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
For a while now, most African countries have found it very difficult to switch over from analogue broadcasting to digital.
Nigeria, which prides itself as the giant of Africa, has also not been able to fully switch over to digital broadcasting.
It is already two years now since the digital migration deadline set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for Africa expired and yet only six African nations have completed digital transition.
Recall that in 2006, ITU, a UN agency, issued the Geneva 2006 agreement, signalling the development of ‘all-digital’ terrestrial television services.
The reason for this was to stimulate ICT applications and make more efficient use of spectrum through the digital dividend that comes with phasing out analogue TV.
Although the initial deadline, set for June 2015, was missed by most African countries, the digital revolution is nevertheless underway in a number of countries, including Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
A recent report released by Eutelsat highlighted the major challenges delaying the digital transition in Africa.
According to the report, the main challenge to deploying nationwide Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) is to manage timely and equitable switchover for everyone in order not to create a Digital Divide that separates the homes with digital from the homes left only with analogue.
The challenge, the report said, is particularly steep for countries with a large landmass, mountain ranges or islands that typically remain beyond range of terrestrial networks, or with interference issues in border regions.
Most terrestrial operators deploy fibre networks and DTT towers on the basis of return on investment, meaning they concentrate on areas with a certain population density and they neglect users in more rural or semi-rural areas. This means there is a real risk that exclusive use of terrestrial technologies can permanently leave too many consumers beyond range of the benefits of digital.
Eutelsat further said funding is another challenge, explaining that the cost of a nationwide DTT network is often underestimated and can put the break on switchover.
“The lack of attractive local content to fill up the channels that have been made available by DTT projects and funding for a public awareness campaign are also major setbacks that need to be overcome,” it added.
However, none of these issues need be a deal breaker. There are cost-effective and time-efficient solutions that can resolve the challenges, notably hybrid networks that use terrestrial as the basic platform and satellites to deliver channels to terrestrial towers and directly to homes beyond range of digital reception, the report pointed out.
The report said once the problems of cost, reach and speed of deployment are resolved, the challenges for any country preparing for digital transition will shift to managing the service, sourcing consumer hardware, set-top box distribution and content.
“In sharing our longstanding technical and commercial experience from working with public and private broadcasters, as well as regional governments around the world, Eutelsat can provide the most suitable satellite and best-in-class technical solution with the required expertise to drive the digitalisation process and contribute to the growth of a dynamic and lasting broadcast sector,” the report said.
It further explained that, in many regions C-band is the preferred choice for distributing content to terrestrial towers thanks to its resistance to rain fades. Ku-band has the advantage of enabling smaller dishes and is frequently used to complement terrestrial networks by Direct-to-Home (DTH) platform operators.
Two solutions are possible in combining DTT and DTH: hybrid solutions with C and Ku-band, using C-band for feeding towers and a DTH complement in Ku-band for homes in rural areas.
Alternatively, a single band solution, adopted notably in Zimbabwe, uses a single Ku-band transmission to feed towers as well as homes equipped with a Direct-to-Home dish.
On the benefit of digital transition, Eutelsat said, “The transition from analogue to digital TV is a logical development for the broadcasting industry, bringing significant advantages for all players across the value chain.
This, it said, include opportunity to transform the diversity, signal quality and reach of channels into viewer homes, opportunity to generate infrastructure upgrades and stimulate Africa’s vibrant content creation industry, and helps in the release of analogue frequencies for other applications such as mobile services.
“This is why private players like China’s pay-TV provider StarTimes, Canal + Overseas or MultiChoice are already establishing themselves as the continent’s key players in fast-tracking digital migration efforts,” it emphasised.
Founded in 1977, Eutelsat Communications is one of the world’s leading satellite operators. With a global fleet of satellites and associated ground infrastructure, Eutelsat enables clients across video, data, government, fixed and mobile broadband markets to communicate effectively to their customers, irrespective of their location.
Over 6,600 television channels operated by leading media groups are broadcast by Eutelsat to one billion viewers equipped for DTH reception or connected to terrestrial networks.
Headquartered in Paris, with offices and teleports around the globe, Eutelsat assembles 1,000 men and women from 32 countries who are dedicated to delivering the highest quality of service. Eutelsat Communications is listed on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange.
