• Government would scale up public sensitization on Digital Migration.

By CHUSA SICHONE –

ZAMBIA, like other African countries will be changing the Terrestrial Television Broadcasting platform from Analogue to Digital in line with the Geneva 2006 (GE06) Digital TV Broadcasting plan provisions.
The United Nations (UN) agency, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), has set June 17, 2015 as the deadline for countries to switch from Analogue to Digital Television Broadcasting.
Analogue Terrestrial Television has been in existence since the 1940s.
However, technological advancement has rendered Analogue Television obsolete owing to its inefficient use of the frequency spectrum which is a limited resource.
The plan is a transformation of the old Analogue Television Plan (174-230MHz and 470-862MHz) and encompasses Europe, Arab States and Africa.
The change is mainly meant to address the rising demand for Terrestrial Television Broadcasting.
Changing from Analogue to digital is somewhat beneficial because Analogue Terrestrial Television uses one frequency to carry one programme channel while Digital Terrestrial
Television can use one frequency to carry multiple programme channels thereby allowing for transmission of many television programmes using one frequency channel and at lower cost.
It is worth noting that with digital transmission, up to eight television programmes could be transmitted on a spectrum or frequency space of a single Analogue programme. In other words, going digital will mean capacity increase of eight fold!
Not only that, increased capacity would result in some spectrum being freed-up for use for other Information Communication Technology (ICT) services.
Besides the capacity increase, Digital Television Broadcasting would offer a sharper and brighter picture as well as reduced interference coupled with improved sound quality.
The transition from Analogue to Digital transmission requires television sets that are digital ready.
Alternatively, the current Analogue television sets can be used but they need to be used with a Digital Set Top Box (STB).
STB is a device that enables a television set to become a user interface to the Internet and also enables a television set to receive and decode digital television (DTV) broadcasts.
So what has Zambia done to change from Analogue to Digital Television Broadcasting?
Government has formed a National Task Force on Digital Migration to make recommendations and generally oversee the national Digital Migration process.
A National Steering Committee comprising the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services, ZICTA and ZNBC has been tasked to manage the Task Force’s operations.
On July 10, 2014, Government signed a US $9,554,124.49 contract with Star Software Technology Company Limited of China for the supply, delivery; installing and commissioning of phase one of the National Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting System in the country.
Phase one of the project involves the installation of equipment along the line of rail from Chililabombwe to Livingstone for eight months.
The Government approved the Policy March 10, 2014 while the same was launched on June 12, 2014.
Government would scale up public sensitization on Digital Migration and assured the nation that they should not be anxious and worried about the programme as it was merely an improvement on the system currently in use.
On January 5, 2015, Zambia made another stride towards meeting the ITU deadline when Government officially launched the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) test transmission at ZNBC.
Information and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary Chanda Kasolo said the launch was a historical occasion in Zambia’s Digital Migration process and the test transmission will denote the transition to DTT by ZNBC.
Mr Kasolo said the full launch is expected to commence in May this year after the installation of the transmitters under the phase one project.
Phase two involves the installation of studio equipment at ZNBC and digital television transmitters in provincial centres while phase three will cover areas beyond the provincial centres, noting that pre-shipment inspection was conducted by the project management team.
Mr Kasolo said ZNBC has already positioned STBs at Zampost outlets in Lusaka for members of the public to buy so that they were able to access the national broadcaster’s digital television signal.
ZNBC board chairperson John Mulwila said the test transmission was the beginning of better and high quality transmission that the broadcaster will be availing to Lusaka residents, adding that the test transmission will provide a platform upon which to build full DTT rollout along the line of rail.
Lubunda Mambwe, a farmer from Chibombo, was appalled to discover that the running ZNBC advertisement on the STBs was different from what was obtaining on the ground.
“ZNBC was advertising the Set Top Box, different from this one (at Zampost) and that’s where the confusion is. They are saying buy a Set Top Box now I don’t know why they can’t just advertise to say ZNBC has partnered with Multi-Choice so you can just buy a GOtv decoder,” he said.
Mr Mambwe was surprised when he enquired at the Lusaka Main Post Office on the STB, only to be told to buy a GOtv decoder and yet ZNBC has been advertising an STB.
He says there is need for the ZNBC advertisement to be explicit on the STB issue to avoid confusing and misleading the public, reiterating that what was being sold by Zampost was different from what was being advertised on ZNBC.
“The information, what I can see is, it hasn’t trickled down to the local community on the ground to understand this because what they are seeing on TV is a Set Top Box for
ZNBC but when they come to the Post Office they are being told no you can just buy this GOtv thing.
They (public) haven’t been told that there is a already a partnership existing and that’s where the problem is so information hasn’t really gone out to there to the masses to tell them exactly when they come here (Post Office) what they should buy,” he said.
He said ZNBC should have emulated Kenyans by partnering with GOtv other than confusing people on which decoder to buy in a bid to go digital.
Mr Mambwe feels buying a GOtv decoder instead of the STB as advertised on ZNBC would be expensive and foresees last minute panic buying when June 17, 2015 nears, as was the case for Solar Eclipse glasses when Zambia experienced that rare phenomenon several years ago.
D and D Worthy sales assistant Davis Shawa said he just heard a rumour about the Digital Migration programme and thinks it is a good development.
Mr Shawa said there comes a time when almost everything is improved upon to make it more advanced and that technology was no exception.
Alpha Tembo, a Lusaka taxi driver, said he was aware of the Digital Migration process and the STB but has not bought the gadget yet. He plans to buy the STB before the ITU deadline.
The year 2015 is finally here and June 17 is slowly approaching. Zambia has made notable strides on the Digital Migration process but there is need to heighten sensitisation this year