Zimbabwe’s Digital Migration progress now stands at 34%

Zimbabwe’s digital migration which is meant to ensure that the country adopts international standards for broadcasting and content distribution through digital channels is 34% complete.

According to a report in the Herald, this information was shared by the CEO of the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) Mr Obert Muganyura. He also highlighted the outstanding payments of $42.4 million to be made to Huawei and other service providers that have been brought on to assist in the digital migration exercise.

A total of $125 million was required for the digitisation project and the funds were secured through the sale of digital spectrum to one of the State’s mobile network operators, NetOne. Muganyura pointed out that the implementation of the digitisation project is now being hampered by delays in the release of funds from the Central Bank.

Some of the project milestones so far have included securing of Satellite access from Eutelsat, acquiring equipment such as editing suites and HD cameras, the setup of securing of 400,000 set top boxes from a Chinese distributor as well as the engagement of content producers to populate the 12 channels and web TV option created in the process.

These changes in viewing options and content delivery are also expected to lead to the introduction of subscription based TV and the termination of the TV licence system with Zimbabweans expected to pay between $3 and $5 a month to access television content. In addition to securing a new set-top box priced at a subsidised price of $25, which will become a pre-requisite for digital transmission.

According to a report by TechZim in February, the country was meant to make final switch to digital broadcasting in December 2016. The project delays have been blamed on the release of funding, as well as challenges with securing the right amount of content that will be broadcast on the new channels.

As at June 2015, which was a date agreed to by ITU and member nations after the 2006 Geneva agreement as the deadline Digital Migration date, only 48 nations, out of the 119 member countries of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), have successfully transit from analogue to digital migration. Zimbabwe fell under the countries that have been designated as on-going.n Africa, countries including Mozambique; Tanzania; Rwanda; Mauritius and Malawi have migrated successfully.

According to the body, June 17 2015 deadline for switching off analogue television broadcasting in the UHF band was set by ITU Member States at the Regional Radio communication Conference in 2006, known as the GE06 Regional Agreement. However, another 30 countries had requested an extension of the migration dates.

It disclosed that several countries that are party to the GE06 Agreement, as well as many which are not, have already made the transition. ITU explained that the new digital GE06 Plan provides not only new possibilities for structured development of digital terrestrial broadcasting but also sufficient flexibilities for adaptation to the changing telecommunication environment.