The UN has
set June as the deadline for moving from analog to digital transmission. Only a
few African countries seem prepared for the change. Even the largest television
markets on the continent are lagging behind.
Deutsche Welle, 23 Feb 2015
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| A group of people stands near three large satellite dishes in a rural area. Photo: John Hrusa epa dpa |
Staring at
a blank TV screen has become a reality for most Kenyans, and many other African
TV viewers could face the same fate come June 17. That is the deadline set by
the UN's International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for television programs to
be transmitted only digitally.
After the
deadline, satellite dishes and antennas will receive their signals via a
different technology. Theoretically, it will be possible to receive many more
channels and enjoy improved image quality.
There is a
story behind Kenya's black screens. President Uhuru Kenyatta's government
ordered a consortium of four major television networks to be blocked from
broadcasting in analog. This happened after they refused to change their
signals to digital. The media houses argued that they were not ready yet, and
now they are in court trying to push for one hundred more days to prepare for
the digital transition.
Apart from
Nigeria and South Africa, Kenya is one of the largest television markets in
Africa.
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| The Standard Group,one of Kenya's leading media house, says it needs more time for the switchover |
All three
countries are not ready for the switchover, says Mike Jensen, an IT specialist
with the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) based in South
Africa. "The Kenyan situation is probably the worst-case scenario on the
continent; South Africa is pretty close," Jensen said. "In Nigeria,
only one state has made the switch," Jensen told DW.
Nationwide
coverage after the switchover to digital broadcasting is by no means ensured in
African countries. As in Kenya, it is often about money. The change is costly
for governments and citizens alike, the APC states on its website, which seeks
to create an awareness of the issue.
Television
viewers will usually need a decoder, which costs about $50 (44 euros), to
decode the digital signal. Moreover, television companies will have to dig deep
into their pockets to be able to broadcast their programs using the new
technology.
Tanzania a
digital model
Vera Moses,
a Tanzanian viewer, says she is happy with the digital reception. "The
quality of the pictures is good," she told DW in an interview.
Tanzania is
one of three countries that has already largely switched to wide-band Digital
Video Broadcasting (DVB). "In Dar es Salaam we already switched off analog
transmission at the end of 2012," John Nkoma, the director of Tanzania's
Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), told DW. Most cities are now
receiving programs via DVB-T, which is terrestrial digital broadcasting via
antenna. The remote parts of Tanzania receive broadcasts via satellite.
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| Dar es Salaam has already gone digital |
It took
some persuasion to convince citizens and businesses of the merits of the new
system, Nkoma said, as he revealed two secrets to Tanzania's success: Firstly,
decoders were taxed less. "The price for the decoders is artificially
low," Nkoma said, "so they have become affordable." Tanzanians
can get a decoder for $30.
Secondly,
user habits were taken into consideration. "The public was used to
free-to-air channels, so we required that in the digital broadcasting platform
there would be the five popular channels of this country and those would be
available as free channels." Viewers whose subscriptions expire would have
these five channels to fall back on.
Market interests
But
according to APC's Mike Jensen, that is not the whole story. Tanzania and
neighboring Rwanda had forced the switchover on the public by shutting off the
analog signal. Of course, there were citizens in both countries who simply
could not afford the necessary equipment, Jensen said.
He thinks
governments should guarantee a realistic compensation for the costs. The price
of a decoder, Jensen said, was also a big issue in Mauritius. The government
ordered large amounts of cheap decoders from China. Many of which had defects.
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| Satellite transmission is also to be digitalized |
Jensen also
does not understand the date the ITU has chosen. He estimates that by then only
six countries may succeed in formally completing the switchover.
Germany has
already changed to digital broadcasting, and so have most of the other
industrialized nations. But Latin America has planned the switchover for as
late as 2020.
Jensen says
African telecommunications companies pushed for the early date for Africa.
These companies, he said, were the only ones to profit from such a date,
because they wanted to monopolize television broadcasting.
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