Durban’s launch of its broadband service, dubbed eThekwini Metroconnect, means the city is speeding ahead to become the first ’smart city’ on the African continent by selling spare broadband capacity on its extensive optic fibre network to business, and ultimately residents, at drastically reduced rates. The Mercury reports that the launch at the SmartCity Conference and Exhibition at the International Convention Centre marked a watershed moment in the history of broadband communication in South Africa. The announcement by Jacquie Subban, head of geographic information and policy in the eThekwini Municipality, comes after the city revealed in August that it had appointed technology giant Dimension Data to manage its optic fibre network. She said the broadband plan would enable all key tourism areas in the city - including the new stadium - to have free wireless internet hotspots for the 2010 World Cup.
Tania Pellegrini of the Host Broadcast Services (HBS), the official host broadcaster for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, met with the Central University of Technology (CUT), Free State’s 2010 Project Office to discuss the 2010 World Cup. According to a Volksblad report, she introduced the HBS, who they are and what their role will be at the 2010 World Cup, whilst she also invited the CUT to participate in the HBS internship programme which is available to students in South Africa. The HBS will bring with them a team of 2 000 professionals producing all images and sounds of all 64 matches to be played at the 10 identified venues in SA.
Mobile media rights strategy for 2010 - 29/09/2008
Soccerex and FIFA have assembled a panel of industry leaders to highlight the importance of mobile marketing and broadcasting ahead of the 2010 World Cup. BuaNews reports that the Marketing and Communication Executive for Soccerex, Billy Hunt said the panel entitled ’Mobile communications in Africa and beyond-the key to reaching fans at the 2010 World Cup’ would feature senior figures from FIFA, Ericsson and Perform. Hunt said the next FIFA World Cup in South Africa was expected to push forward interaction via many different communication technologies, including full match broadcasts on mobiles. The Director of the TV Division in FIFA, Niclas Ericson, who will be heading the panel, is expected to outline the importance of fan communication via media platforms and opportunities this poses ahead of 2010.
Funding hiccup hampers digital TV process - 30/09/2008
Severe funding challenges could result in many South Africans losing out on public digital television when state-owned signal carrier Sentech switches on its digital signal a November. With just over a month left before Sentech’s digital terrestrial television (DTT) signal is due to go live, slow funding from government could hobble the process. In its latest annual report, Sentech said it had received only R500m for the roll- out of its DTT infrastructure and making set- top boxes available.The Business Times reports that DTT was one of the prerequisites for South Africa being awarded the 2010 World Cup. It will allow broadcast signals to be compressed and more channels to be broadcast on the same bandwidth. Eight new video channels can be provided on the same bandwidth that one analogue offers.
The Chris Hani district municipality (CHDM) is in the process of joining the 2010 World Cup bandwagon by designing a ’masterplan’ aimed at creating massive spinoffs for the district, particularly in the tourism and hospitality industries. The Daily Dispatch reports that Queenstown was recently identified as a Public Viewing Area for the 2010 World Cup by the South African Broadcasting Authority. CHDM district co- ordinating committee chairman Danso Agyemang said the district authority had been identified and given public viewing rights and that the plan would be developed internally with assistance from stakeholders within various workstreams. Key roleplayers are set to include sector departments, non- governmental organizations, municipalities, traditional leaderships, the media, business community and SAFA with CHDM acting as a central co-ordinating body. In addition, the provincial 2010 committee would be responsible for funding.
Failure in transmission - which could cut off a large chunk of football lovers around the world - is the worst-case scenario, especially with the world football governing body’s repeated warning that the tournament will be used to test the country’s readiness for 2010. And with the latest study by the Economist Intelligence Unit released on Monday, indicating that South Africa ranks 37th in the world in the 2008 IT industry competitiveness index, many have reason to worry ahead of the Confederations Cup and the World Cup. But Telkom, the country’s information technology and telecommunications infrastructure service provider, says these fears are unfounded. According to a report on the IoL site, Telkom’s group executive for multinational accounts, Thami Magazi, dismissed the possibility of transmission glitches during the Confederations Cup and 2010 World Cup. The company, he maintained, was way ahead in the installation of the entire infrastructure that will enable the broadcasting capacity for both tournaments.
With the pending change in government administration causing jitters among some, FIFA president Sepp Blatter is in the country to allay fears around the country’s World Cup preparations and preparedness, including those related to ICT. According to Blatter: ’The objective of this visit is to assure the whole country of FIFA’s 100% commitment and trust (in) the organisational capability of the country.’ ITWeb reports that ICT is one of the areas he believes are on track as far as preparations are concerned, although he hopes to get more insight into the ICT situation in the coming few days.
Sentech, the state-owned commercial enterprise that styles itself as a leader in converging communications technologies, is not receiving enough state support to carry out its job, it complains in its annual report. In the annual report for 2007/08, Sentech says that the communications department requires it to construct and make available wireless broadband infrastructure including to schools, health centres, government offices and post offices while bridging the digital divide. But chairman Colin Hickling complains that after a profitable period from the late 1990s to the early years of this decade, Sentech’s financial position has deteriorated ’significantly’. According to Business Report, he says the primary focus of the first pillar is to upgrade and maintain the signal infrastructure as well as to digitise the terrestrial television network and provide satellite services in time for the 2010 World Cup.
2010 expected to boost Internet usage - 15/09/2008
The 2010 World Cup could be the event that makes Internet adoption ubiquitous in SA. Telecom traffic or Internet usage could rise by as much as 25% over the course of the event. According to a MyADSL.co.za report, this trend will be spurred by demand for mobile TV broadcasting to cellphones and the possible viewing of TV over the Internet, says William Hahn, an analyst at technology research group Gartner. If the Beijing Olympic Games are anything to go by, global sporting events like the World Cup will continue to be a big driver of Internet usage. ’The growth rate for applications such as downloads, messaging traffic and highlight viewing is staggering,’ he says.
Government’s faith in Telkom to provide the necessary ICT capacity demanded by FIFA for the 2010 World Cup seems likely to pay off. There has been concern about whether Telkom can provide world-class ICT infrastructure to support the multi million rand International Broadcasting Centre (IBC), a 30 000 mē media nerve centre, to be built in Nasrec, Johannesburg. The Financial Mail reports that all broadcast transmissions from the World Cup stadiums, and distribution will be facilitated through the IBC 24 hours a day for 10 weeks. Arthur Goldstuck, CEO of World Wide Worx, believes Telkom has the technical capability and resources to meet the FIFA requirements. ’They may have compromised quality when it comes to consumers but the technical capability and taste and sophistication of the required infrastructure will be up when we host the World Cup,’ he says.
The failed bid by digital equipment supply company Digital Horizons to get the courts to block the SABC from awarding a R383m tender to Sony SA again shows up the broadcaster’s poor governance culture. The tender pertains to the supply of four outside broadcast vans, which are crucial to the SABC’s preparations for the 2009 Confederations Cup and the 2010 soccer World Cup. The Financial Mail reports that minutes of the SABC ad hoc procurement committee show that board chair Khanyi Mkonza and director Gloria Serobe awarded the tender to Sony, despite evidence that the foreign-owned company’s submission was technically inferior and not black economic empowerment compliant. Management initially recommended Digital Horizons as the preferred bidder.
As part of its preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Finals, South Africa plans to migrate from analog to digital broadcasting technology for television. In his keynote address at the 12th edition of Highway Africa Conference, Radhakrishna Roy Padayachie, South Africa’s Deputy Communications minister announced that the government is currently initiating a programme to facilitate the transition from analog to digital signals. ’Although South Africa is the only country in the continent able to broadcast a digital signal, it still has a lot to do before 2010 when the broadcast must be digital,’ he said. As things stand, the country is already running behind schedule. According to the Southern African Digital Broadcasting Association (SADIBA), the first roll-out should have commenced at the latest by 2003. The analog services should gradually be reduced to termination by 2012.
Broadcasting the 2010 soccer World Cup to millions of viewers is more important than a company’s rights to administrative justice. This was the judgment in the Johannesburg High Court yesterday in the legal battle between black-owned Digital Horizon and the SABC over a R383-million deal between the public broadcaster and Sony SA relating to the televising of the soccer showcase. Digital Horizons wanted the SABC to re-invite tenders for the deal because, it maintained, it failed to win the contract because the tendering process was flawed and tainted with irregularities. Judge Frans Malan argued that ruling in favour of Digital Horizons would reflect badly on South Africa and the SABC ahead of Africa hosting the events: ’I think the risk of inability of the [SABC] to televise the two soccer competitions far outweighs [Digital Horizon’s] right to administrative justice. It would, moreover, not serve the public good if the interim relief sought [an interdict] were given.’
Appointments, including a raft of advisers to the government, are due to be made to help SA utilise information and communication technology (ICT) more effectively. The announcement follows a three-day meeting between President Thabo Mbeki and his Presidential International Advisory Council on Information Society and Development which ended in Hoedspruit, Limpopo, on Sunday. The meeting focused on developments and trends in ICT and reviewed progress in areas such as e-government, education and health. Briefing journalists, Mbeki said yesterday that SA had made some progress in the provision of ICT to South Africans. Now, he said, ’as government, service providers and operators we need to look into innovative approaches to expand connectivity in rural areas’. Also discussed during the meeting was the country’s readiness to host the 2010 World Cup. SA was expected to spend between R2bn and R5bn on ICT infrastructure needed for the games.
MTN’s ambitions to rule the developing world could be seriously slowed down by another big player that is making inroads in its territory. Zain Telecoms, a network provider whose operations are headquartered in Kuwait, has recently voiced its intentions to enter the local market. Lindsey McDonald, an analyst with consultancy Frost and Sullivan, said it made sense for Zain to look for a foothold in SA. Zain has been increasing its public profile of late, co-sponsoring local broadcasts of the Beijing Olympics and rebranding its Africa-wide Celtel unit from Celtel to Zain Africa last month. The company’s expansion has also been fuelled by its One Network promotion. Subscribers travelling within 15 selected countries are charged normal tariffs without roaming fees. MTN recently launched its own ’Roam Africa for only R5’ offer, but it is set to end just after the 2010 World Cup.
The SABC’s tender process for delivery of high definition outside broadcasting vehicles may have to start from scratch if the Johannesburg High Court finds in the favour of a failed contender. Digital Horizons has approached the court to interdict the SABC from awarding the tender to SonySA. Digital Horizons claims the awarding of the tender was flawed. They also claim that Sony SA, which is 100 percent foreign-owned, is not BEE-compliant. John Carvalho, chief executive of Digital Horizons, contends that the SABC evaluation committee recommended to their group executive that Digital Horizons was the preferred bidder to deliver four high definition outside broadcast vehicles, which would be used for next year’s Confederations Cup and the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
The 2010 Local Organising Committee (LOC) is ready to provide the bandwidth needed for the Fifa Confederations Cup (FCC) 2009, it says.
The LOC has been working with Telkom to ensure all the TV compounds, at the Confederations Cup venues, will be cabled and have sufficient bandwidth.
’Most of the six FCC stadiums have been cabled and we are working closely with Telkom to ensure the rest will be connected before the Confederations Cup kicks off next year,’ says 2010 LOC chief IT and telecommunications officer Phumlani Moholi. Last month, Telkom announced it would have the required capacity installed for the FCC and broadcast signals would be sent via Telkom’s SAT-3 cable, on the West Coast, and its South African Far East Cable that runs out of Durban.
Technology company Sony has defended the contract awarded to it by the national broadcaster to facilitate the broadcasting of the 2010 World Cup.
There is a pending court bid, lodged by losing black-owned bidder Digital Horizons, opposing the SABC’s decision to appoint Sony as the technology provider of the relevant equipment facilities for the sporting event. The High Court found this application was not urgent, and the case now resides with a civil court. The SABC has, in the meantime, signed with Sony. While the case is sub judice, it is based on the premise, by Digital Horizons, that Sony does not have the necessary black economic empowerment (BEE) credentials to have received the R300 million tender. Andrew Fraser, senior manager for brand management at Sony SA, says the company was awarded the tender last month by the SABC to design, build, configure and supply four high-definition (HD) outside broadcast (OB) vans.
The SABC board is on a collision course with the High Court and the ANC after it awarded the 2010 World Cup broadcasting rights - worth R300m - to a Japanese company. This is in spite of the SABC procurement committee’s recommendation that local black-owned company Digital Horizons get the tender. The Mercury reports that the ANC is waiting with keen interest to hear the reasons why the SABC awarded the rights to Sony, which has no black economic empowerment credentials. ANC parliamentary caucus spokesperson Khotso Khumalo said: ’We had ordinarily expected the board to give the tender to South African companies. The matter is before the Johannesburg High Court and we expect the board to give reasons for its decision (in court).’ The deal to award the tender to Sony was concluded on August 12, despite a high court application by Digital Horizons in July to prevent the board from doing so.
The Communications Department has clarified the technology commitments it made to help SA host the 2010 World Cup, saying it never promised that local viewers would enjoy watching the games in a much sharper digital format. It would not be breaking any guarantees if local viewers were still not connected to the high-definition television (HDTV) format by 2010, the department’s spokesperson Joe Makhafola said. Business Day reports that the department was responding after Gartner analyst Will Hahn said SA had an obligation to broadcast the games in HDTV format, but warned that most local viewers would miss out. Broadcasting to local viewers in HDTV was not part of the core 2010 guarantees to FIFA, Makhafola said, as its commitment was to provide infrastructure for the international transmission of HDTV, not to ensure that local viewers benefited. But even if local consumers were not enjoying terrestrial digital broadcasts by 2010 they could still access the newer technology by subscribing to satellite services, he said.
Hosting the 2010 World Cup will speed up the provision of massive bandwidth in South Africa and should bring down the price of telecoms services, an industry analyst predicted. Will Hahn, a principal analyst at international IT consultancy Gartner, Inc, told a symposium in Cape Town that the Fifa requirement for high definition television had major implications for South Africa’s telecoms infrastructure. ’HDTV is the most bandwidth hungry, the most powerful application of television that you can have today,’ Hahn said. The Times reports that South Africans themselves were unlikely to be able to watch 2010 on HDTV, ’but the broadcast itself will be HDTV capable and that has implications for the broadcasting infrastructure.’ Hahn said the big screens at fan parks would be an ideal opportunity to introduce South Africans to HDTV. ’It really is an extraordinary medium.’
Hosting the 2010 World Cup will speed up the provision of massive bandwidth in South Africa and should bring down the price of telecoms services, an industry analyst predicted. According to a MyADSL.co.za report, Will Hahn, a principal analyst at international IT consultancy Gartner, Inc, said that the FIFA requirement for high definition television had major implications for South Africa’s telecoms infrastructure. ’HDTV is the most bandwidth hungry, the most powerful application of television that you can have today,’ Hahn said. South Africans themselves were unlikely to be able to watch 2010 on HDTV, ’but the broadcast itself will be HDTV capable and that has implications for the broadcasting infrastructure.’
South Africa does not have enough bandwidth to meet the 2010 guarantees. This is however said to change because Telkom is due to increase the capability of its undersea cables. IT News reports that Rosey Sekese, deputy director-general for ICT infrastructure said the progress being made in getting the country ready for the 2010 World Cup. She said that they need to ensure broadcast signals can be transmitted from stadiums to international broadcast centres. Telkom will have the required capacity installed by next year for the Confederation Cup. Broadcast signals will be sent through Telkom’s SAT-3 cable on the west coast and its South Africa Far East Cable that runs out of Durban. Telkom is said to make its own satellite facilities available.
Cable to be launched in time for 2010 - 14/08/2008
Mauritius-registered private equity venture SEACOM said a fibre optic undersea cable linking east Africa to Europe and Asia would be launched in June 2009, in time for the 2010 World Cup. According to a report on the IoL site, the company said it would start laying the $650m cable, which is needed to provide high-speed Internet access and spur investment, in October this year. The 15 000 km cable will wind around the east of the continent between South Africa and Egypt, then on to Mumbai in India and Marseille in France. The group will start connecting sections of the cable in April 2009.
MultiChoice could miss out on mobile TV licence - 12/08/2008
Pay television operator MultiChoice’s hopes of getting a mobile TV licence could be dashed as the government plans to enforce the cross-media ownership clause. According to Business Report, the clause is in section 66 of the Electronics Communications Act, and prevents a company or an individual who controls a newspaper from owning a commercial broadcasting service in an area where the paper has an average circulation of 20%. MultiChoice is owned by Naspers, which owns a string of newspapers and magazines. This could prevent the pay television firm from being licensed by the government. The licensing would be under way by the first quarter of next year The government had indicated to the local organising committee for the soccer World Cup that ’by 2010 we will have mobile TV’.
Minister of communications Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri last week backtracked on her policy directive that the government would license one company to provide a mobile TV network, declaring that there would be more than one licence holder. If there had been only one network provider, which was expected to be Sentech, all companies wishing to enter the market would have been forced to go through that company. David Moore, a media analyst at Africa Analysis, said this limitation would have eventually created a monopoly similar to the one faced until recently by the pay television market. The news will be a relief to companies such as MultiChoice, which has plans to have its mobile TV service available before the 2010 Fifa World Cup. The service could be a new money spinner for the pay television operator. MultiChoice has been running mobile TV trials for the past two years, in partnership with Sentech and cellphone operators such as MTN. According to Business Report, MultiChoice has so far launched the service commercially in Nigeria and Kenya.
Government to spend millions on digital TV - 08/08/2008
South Africa will spend about R2.45bn on subsidising the shift to digital television for five million poor households by 2011, the government said. Africa’s biggest economy also confirmed it would meet a November 2008 deadline for switching on digital broadcasting, well ahead of the 2010 World Cup. The analogue system will be switched off in November 2011. According to a report on the IoL site, the government said it would pay about 70% of the set-top box, which will be available in 2009 and which is needed for access to digital television. About 7.5m South African households have television sets. About 6% of those are already linked to satellite television.
Eight ministers and deputy ministers have met the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board to discuss the credibility and accuracy of the broadcaster’s news reports as well as its plans for covering the forthcoming elections. This emerged from a written reply to a parliamentary question given on Friday by Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri. The ministers also discussed sporting matters with the board, including broadcasting television and radio rights and their readiness for the 2010 World Cup, Matsepe-Casaburri said.
South African mobile phone group MTN plans to spend R1.4bn to build a 5 000 km fibre-optic network in the country. ’We will be doing that in partnership with other operators,’ said Tim Lowry, MTN’s managing director for South Africa. According to a Moneybiz report, Lowry said MTN’s South African unit would also spend R250m to build a new fibre-optic network around stadiums and hotels for the 2010 World Cup.
FIFA has been caught off-side by the high cost of broadband in SA. ITWeb reports that the world soccer governing body and its technology partner, MATCH, had not anticipated the extraordinarily high cost of bandwidth in this country when awarding the 2010 World Cup to SA, reveals Dick Wiles, the CEO of MATCH. As a result, MATCH has been forced to re-evaluate and ’dumb down’ its technology solutions in order to stay within budget. He explains the technology spend for the coming World Cup will be similar to the 2006 World Cup a figure he is not willing to disclose because of commercial agreements but, due to high infrastructure and bandwidth costs, FIFA and MATCH have been forced to be ’a bit more creative’ to stay within budget.
