ICT INDABA 2012: For digital terrestrial television and digital migration in South Africa to succeed, you need certainty - BBC.

The BBC which has successfully managed its process of "digital migration" - the process by which TV broadcasting switches from analogue to digital broadcasts - had advice for South Africa and Africa today at the inaugural ICT Indaba 2012 conference taking place in Cape Town, saying that the process of digital terrestrial television (DTT) needs certainty and a fixed date.

South Africa's switch-over to DTT is has stalled because of a lack of focus, too many roleplayers and infighting, an over-emphasis to hijack the process for job creation instead of focusing on the ordinary TV viewer, fast-changing communication ministers, delays in standards and regulations, huge uncertainty over a broadcasting standard and delays in a set top box standard.

The commercial switch-on date for South Africa's DTT is many years behind and has in just 2012 already been moved twice.

The new date is now September 2012, but the date seems unlikely and unrealistic. Since STB manufacturers need at least 3 months to build and get a STB to market (let alone a marketing and roll-out and subsidy plan none of which exists), and since no STB manufacturers have been shortlisted or been issued with contracts, there is no way in which the September date - even if there is a ceremonial switch-on with a demo model STB - can possibly be met. It's likely that the date will be pushed out yet again.

David Hemingway, the senior spectrum manager at the BBC in London spoke at the ICT Indaba 2012 today. Successfully having overseen the BBC digital migration, he said certainty in the process, consistent messaging and certainty in a switch-over date are extremely important for successful implementation of DTT.

"At the beginning in the United Kingdom there was a lot of scepticism. A lot of people said "Oh it will never happen'. But time went by and we were still talking about the same date. People started saying 'It will happen.' And it happened. We had lots of time to prepare. Lots of time to adjust. There was certainy, there was a long time to prepare and the certainty of a fixed date contributed enormously to the certainty the industry had to proceed with DTT," said David Hemingway.

"Initially there were a lot of industry players who had big ambitions but everyone waited for everyone else. Set top boxes (STBs) were locally manufactured and initially a large number also imported from the Far East. But the imports have since levelled out."

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