Preamble

We, the participants at the SADC Technical Working Forum on Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting Standards convened by Policymakers, Regulators and other stakeholders in the SADC region, as mandated by the SADC Ministers responsible for Telecommunications, Postal and ICTs, and hosted by the Lesotho Communications Authority (LCA)  at Lesotho Sun in Maseru from 26^th  to 28^th  April 2010;

Noting

• Current developments towards the economic integration of the region into a common market, which will enable smooth movement of people and trade in goods and services, thus enhancing the economic development of the region as a whole;

• The strategic role that broadcasting plays to accelerate regional economic integration and its social and economic development consequences across the region;

• The impact that the digital terrestrial broadcasting migration has on the SADC citizens and how the region will be affected by the migration process;

• Current trends, as observed in Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Asia and the rest of Africa, towards the migration from analogue to digital, and the potential social and economic impact of the migration on the uptake and utilisation of digital broadcasting technology;

·         The decision of the SADC Ministers responsible for Telecommunications, Postal and ICTs to conclude the migration process by 31^st December 2013;

·         The decision of the AU Ministers of Communications to conclude digital switch-over by the end of 2013;

·         The decision of the ITU Final Acts;

Recognising:

• The Ministers’ decision was informed by the need to position broadcasting as an important tool in the regional socio-economic integration;

• The migration from analogue to digital broadcasting will go a long way in increasing the uptake and the utilisation of broadcasting services within the region;

• There are various digital terrestrial broadcasting transmission standards available to achieve the objectives of the digital migration;

Considering:

·         Expert inputs presented by various stakeholders, including the representatives of ISDB-T, DVB-T on their respective standards; and ITU-R representative on the implications of the GE-06 Agreement for Region 1, at this Forum;

·         The commitments made by member countries at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Regional Radiocommunication Conference in the Geneva 2006 (RRC-06) regarding the migration of terrestrial broadcasting services from analogue to digital technology;

·         The recommendations on the SADC digital terrestrial broadcasting road map, including technical standards made by the  1^st SADC Working Session on Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting held in Ebene, Mauritius,  in August 2009 to be presented at the Angola Ministerial Meeting;

·         The decision of the Senior Officials of SADC at their meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa on 11 March 2010 to re-open the discussion on standards with specific reference to ISDB-T, DVB-T and DVB-T2 and recommend the preferred standard to the Ministers Meeting in Angola;

·         Countries signed the GE-06 Agreement with Declarations and Reservations of their rights upon the deposit of the Agreement with the relevant Authorities (ITU Secretary General);

·         The GE-06 Agreement provides for modifications, denunciations and review subject to certain requirements contained in the Final Acts;

·         The implications of departing from the GE-06 Agreement, being;

v  The revision of the GE-06 Agreement will require  re-planning that will lead to convening another RRC which will be a lengthy period of time as it involves other members of the ITU in Region 1

v  The removal of spectrum protection for non-compliance by contracting members. The principle of first come first served basis regarding spectrum assignments will apply thus negatively affecting efforts to harmonise the implementation of DTT in the SADC region

v  The human capacity and necessary planning tools to undertake the re-planning process

Convinced that:

·         The choice of any standard should be informed by the social, economic and technical policy objectives of SADC member countries;

·         The standard should fulfil the requirements of interactivity, mobility, universal access and interoperability and further ensure that the standard will promote the developmental objective of the region in bridging the digital divide and development of the manufacturing industry capabilities for the region;

·         A harmonised approach remains the best way to achieve a speedy migration from analogue to digital broadcasting;

·         The choice of  a technical standard should also take into account current investments in countries such as Angola, Botswana, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania;

·         Other countries such as Mauritius, Namibia and Tanzania have already deployed DTT services using DVB-T standard;

Further Convinced:

• Use the opportunity to promote universal access to broadcasting by prioritising rural communities in the deployment of digital broadcasting infrastructure;

• Take advantage of new innovations such as mobility and interactivity to bring a new viewing experience to consumers.  This include the opportunity to provide additional services such as e-government services to SADC;

• Position the digital dividend as the central objective of the digital terrestrial broadcasting migration process;

• Ensure that the current emphasis of this discussion on infrastructure issues should not negate the equal important task to build the necessary capacity to produce and broadcast local content;

• Take into account the implications of any decision on countries that are already implementing DTT, as well as those SADC countries located in the North and therefore bordering other countries that will continue to be protected in terms of the GE-06 Agreement;

Hereby Resolve to:

•  Not to recommend any standard at this stage as the meeting did not reach consensus on the choice of a preferred standard;

• Encourage all country representatives to use the information obtained  during the presentations to consult with other national stakeholders on the technical standards for digital broadcasting;

• Highlight key social, economic and technical policy objectives to be met by the standard to be adopted by the region;

• Encourage countries that have conducted DTT trials and implementations to share their experiences and information with the rest of SADC countries;

• Ensure that any decision taken should reflect a consensus of SADC Member countries so as to allow for harmonisation of policy and regulatory reforms in the ICT sector in the SADC region.