MEDIA STATEMENT:SEVENTH SADC DIGITAL BROADCASTING MIGRATION FORUM, 10TH TO 12TH JUNE 2014, KASANE, BOTSWANA The 7th Southern African Development Community (SADC) Digital Broadcasting Migration Forum was convened at the Mowana Safari Lodge in Kasane, Botswana from 10th to 12th June 2014. The forum was preceded by the 4th SADC Digital Broadcasting Migration Implementation Steering Committee Meeting which is a high level meeting constituted of Senior Officials from SADC Member States tasked with coordinating the implementation of the SADC Roadmap for Digital Broadcasting Migration was held on 9th June 2014. Both events were hosted by the Government of the Republic of Botswana. The 7th SADC Digital Broadcasting Migration Forum was attended by Delegates from ten (10) SADC Member States namely; Botswana, Kingdom of Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Kingdom of Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Forum was also attended by representatives from SADC Implementing Agencies including the Communications Regulators’ Association of Southern Africa (CRASA) and Southern Africa Broadcasting Association (SABA). Also in attendance to share their experience in the migration process were representatives from African Telecommunications Union (ATU), GSMA and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the Unites States of America. The Official Opening Ceremony was graced by the presence of the leading Political and Administrators of the Chobe District in which Kasane falls including the District Commissioner of Chobe, Council Secretary, the Court President and the Member of Parliament. In their welcome remarks both the District Commissioner and the Court President gave the delegates an introduction to the Chobe District and what it had to offer as well as inviting them to return and visit the region. The Keynote was given by the representative of the Minister responsible for Transport and Communications, the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of State President Mogomotsi Kaboeamodimo. In his speech he reflected on the opportunities that are likely as a result of the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting as captured by the theme “maximising the digital broadcasting advantage”, both at an individual country level and within the Region. He iterated the commitment of Botswana to meet the timelines set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for the Migration from Analogue to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT). He also indicated that in the endeavour to derive full technological, economic and social benefits for our citizens the Region needs to deal with issues of efficiency, economy and quality in our choices of technologies and content delivery methods among other considerations. He also indicated his appreciation for Botswana to have been given the honour to host the 7th SADC Digital Broadcasting Migration Forum. The representative of the Chairperson of SADC the Deputy Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Civic Education, Mr Martin Kantikana, in his remarks appreciated the commitment of SADC Member States towards the work being undertaken by SADC Member States in pursuing a successful migration from analogue to digital broadcasting technologies by the ITU Analogue Switch Off (ASO) deadline of 17th June 2015. He also highlighted that the SADC DTT Forum is an excellent platform for sharing of success and challenges in the DTT migration process. He noted the sharing of information, skills and knowledge is basically capacity building for the Region on the DTT migration. He went further to indicate that one of the major challenges is content production. The Chief Executive of the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA), Mr. Thari Pheko acknowledged the role of the SADC Secretariat in supporting Member States to engage in best practices and various approaches to the implementation of the SADC Roadmap within the context of the looming Analogue Switch Over date. He singled out Digital Dividend as the greatest benefit for the citizens of our region. He also touched on the issue of Broadband as a key enabler for ICT including broadcasting. He urged SADC to motivate for more efficiency in Broadcasting and to start thinking of the Digital Dividend. The Representative of SADC Secretariat Mrs Cecilia Mamelodi-Onyadile reminded the 7th SADC DTT Forum that with a year to go prior to the digital migration switch over; Member States and stakeholders should take stock of individual and collective efforts during the Forum and take cognizance of the looming deadline, the Region should begin the countdown to 17 June 2015. She also urged the 7th SADC DTT Forum to engage in honest and open discussions with respect to the Readiness of the SADC Member States to migrate in the coming twelve (12) months. She further urged the delegates to use the Forum as an opportunity to renew their collective vigor to meet the fast approaching International deadline. Ms Mamelodi-Onyadile also took the opportunity to remind the Delegates of the process that Member States have taken so far since the Ministers responsible for Communication and ICT agreed on a coordinated approach to the Migration during their meeting held in Swakopmund Namibia in June 2009. She also used the opportunity to acknowledge the good work being undertaken by the SADC DTT Project Management Office (PMO) which became operational in May 2013 and thanked the Member States who have seconded officials to the SADC DTT PMO. The 7th SADC DTT Forum which was held almost a year before the international ASO deadline was convened to review progress in relation to the SADC Roadmap on Digital Broadcasting Migration and receive a Report on the Status of Implementation from the SADC DTT PMO and the individual Member States. The 2nd SADC DTT PMO Bi-Annual Progress Report 2014 on the implementation of the SADC Roadmap for Digital Broadcasting Migration. The Forum also provided opportunities for Member States to share their individual experiences on the migration and learn from Experts from the Region and beyond on various important topics on DTT broadcasting migration, such as communications strategy and consumer awareness, content development, free to air (FTA) broadcasting platforms, DTT solutions provisioning, digital dividend, SADC 700 MHz Channelling Plan Proposal and many more. The Forum approved and endorsed the guidelines on Consumer Issues. The 7th SADC DTT Forum also received brief progress reports from the ten (10) Member States that were present regarding their status on the implementation of the SADC Roadmap for Digital Broadcasting Migration, in particular progress made since the last SADC Digital Broadcasting Migration Forum. In general, the Forum noted that the Member States had made progress and had established national institutional structures, to lead the Process. The Forum noted that all SADC Member State have submitted their Official Notices to the ITU-BR in respect of the GE06 Modification Coordination Exercise that ended in July 2013. However, the Forum also noted that some SADC Member States are undertaking normal coordination work as provided for under Article 4 of the GE06 Agreement. The 7th SADC Digital Broadcasting Migration Forum made the following recommendations: 1. The remaining 4 Member States will be visited by the SADC DTT PMO in the coming Month. 2. SADC DTT PMO will develop a proposal for the inclusion of Madagascar in the Countries to be visited following their readmission into SADC to share with them the SADC Roadmap and assess their readiness to Migrate. 3. Member States that have not completed their GE06 Frequency Coordination are encouraged to finalise their DTT Frequency Plans for the spectrum from 470 to 694 MHz and formally submit their modifications to the ITU-BR so as to benefit from both the Digital Dividend 1 (790-862 MHz) and Digital Dividend 2 (694-790 MHz). 4. SADC Secretariat shall continue its effort in the development of guidelines on local content development and in building capacity and awareness on e-waste framework. 5. The Forum adopted the SADC Guidelines on Consumer Protection and Awareness on Digital Broadcasting Migration and Member States are encouraged to implement the Guidelines with immediate effect. 6. SADC Member States are encouraged to provide their commitment to the SADC TV Bouquet Project by submitting to the SADC Secretariat a correspondence providing rebroadcasting rights to one of their national TV channel to all other SADC Member States. 7. The SADC Secretariat will coordinate the finalization of the draft proposal on the SADC TV Bouquet. Member States are requested to nominate by 14th July 2014 one Member each to be part of the Task Team to finalise modalities and operations of the SADC TV Bouquet for presentation to the Ministers for consideration and approval. 8. SADC DTT PMO shall employ the Risk Management Tool to monitor any possible deviations that may hinder the implementation of the SADC Roadmap for Digital Broadcasting Migration. 9. The SADC Secretariat shall develop a long term strategy on future broadcasting technologies. 10. The SADC Secretariat shall continue to encourage a much wider participation inclusive of content providers and civil society to participate in future DTT Forums. 11. The SADC Member States are encouraged to continue working together to promote harmonisation of the Digital Dividend 1 and 2 for the benefit of the local economies and to ensure broadband reach to the underserviced communities. Closing Ceremony The 7th SADC DTT Forum was officially closed by the Honourable Gaotlhaetse Utlwang Matlhabaphiri, the Assistant Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration of the Republic of Botswana. A vote of thanks was given by Mr. Tapera Kazembe, a representative from Zimbabwe and the Vice-Chairperson of SADC. In delivering his vote of thanks, Mr. Tapera Kazembe, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Government and People of Botswana for the hospitality extended to the Delegates during their stay in Kasane and for hosting the 7th SADC Digital Broadcasting Migration Forum. The 8th Digital Broadcasting Migration Forum shall be held in Malawi, November 2014, and the 9th Digital Broadcasting Migration Forum shall be held in Namibia in June 2015. Mowana Safari Lodge, Kasane, Botswana 12th June, 2014
Posted on: Mon, 16 Jun 2014 09:13:10 +0000
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