Signs of breakthrough in digital TV fiasco

SOUTH Africa may finally be on the verge of making some real progress in the neverending story of its move from analogue to digital terrestrial TV. But important questions remain unanswered.

The cabinet’s announcement on March 5 that it has approved the broadcasting digital migration amendment policy has led to yet more confusion. Communications Minister Faith Muthambi is promising a final policy this week that will set out what the government wants in the set-top boxes consumers will need to receive digital broadcasts.

The battle between e.tv on the one side and MultiChoice and the SABC on the other over whether the boxes should offer encrypted conditional access has been raging for more than two years.

The government initially supported the conditional access idea, but now looks set to change tack, opting instead for a simple control system of some sort that protects its planned multibillion-rand subsidy for poorer households.

And although we’ll only know for sure when the final policy is published this week, it appears that the MultiChoice and SABC view has

The free-to-air sector risks being ‘ghettoised’ without encryption

largely prevailed. The government will give set-top boxes to five million poorer households — and the TV signal will not be scrambled.

It has been argued that if the government had opted for conditional access, prospective pay-TV operators would have been given taxpayerfunded help to supply set-top boxes.

Muthambi has made it clear that conditional access will not feature in the final policy on digital migration.

MultiChoice has long argued that subsidising a conditional access system would amount to unfair competition and that prospective rivals should bear the cost of this themselves. It has argued, too, that encryption in free-to-air set-top boxes is complex and ultimately runs counter to consumers’ interests.

These are valid arguments — taxpayers shouldn’t foot the bill for conditional access.

But e.tv argued that the system was needed to enable free-to-air broadcasters, under increasing commercial pressure, to get the latest movies and series from global content distributors, which insist on encryption. The free-to-air sector risks being “ghettoised” without it. Without encryption, MultiChoice will entrench its dominance in South Africa’s broadcasting industry, e.tv argues.

But encryption is now firmly off the table, according to Muthambi, who says the control system will be a simple security mechanism that, among other things, will prevent settop boxes from being sold and used outside South Africa’s borders.

However, there’s a twist: the security feature will also “encourage the local electronics manufacturing sector”, Muthambi says. It’s not clear what the minister means by this, although comments she made on Twitter this week imply that the government is hoping to effectively block the importation of cheap settop boxes from China.

“Illegally imported [set-top boxes] will be obsolete,” she tweeted. This could halt the dumping of cheap and nasty set-top boxes — a problem that’s afflicted countries such as Kenya and Mauritius — but is it in the interests of consumers if a complete ban is imposed? Again, we need more details.

Will it be only South African electronics manufacturers that get the “keys” to build set-top boxes for the local market? If so, it could be in breach of South Africa’s commitments to the World Trade Organisation. We’ll only know when the policy is published.

It’s unlikely that the final policy will please everyone. It may even end up upsetting everyone. But getting on with the digital TV project is crucial. We must now hope that the government runs a smooth and corruption-free tender process for the free set-top boxes.

At the same time, the Department of Telecommunications needs to publish its policy on the allocation of the high-demand spectrum, including the “digital dividend” spectrum that broadcasters will give up when they migrate to digital broadcasting, so that network operators can get on with the job of connecting the country to broadband.

It’s time South Africa put this embarrassing fiasco behind it.

McLeod edits TechCentral.co.za. Find him on Twitter @mcleodd