Suggested presentation: Africa’s digital transition – An overview of regulatory
approaches and key issues raised
With the ITU deadline for the transition to digital broadcasting set for 2015, the
number of countries that have begun to address how to make the transition is
relatively small. For a large number of countries, the digital transition seems
like a costly exercise with few immediate benefits.
Therefore this presentation will do the following things:
1. Provide an overview of where the digital transition in Africa has got to,
looking at the full range from those who have begun implementation to
those who have yet to make a start.
2. Examine key issues that have begun to be addressed including:
approaches to subsidy for set-top boxes; who carries out the signal
carriage function; whether the change offers opportunities to extend
signal coverage across the country; the allocation of new channels and
potential new content opportunities; and the relationship between freeto-air and pay TV channels in the new media landscape.
The presentation will be based research carried to write a Balancing Act
Briefing Paper called: The Digital Transition – Changing how broadcast
functions that covers: the current state-of-play and the types of issues
regulators and broadcasters will face as the transition is made.