State of Broadcasting and Digital Migration in the Region • https://zimbabwe.misa.org Develop culture of paying for broadcast services and demanding quality service provision. Factors that inhibited digital broadcasting migration in Southern Africa • Lack of financing tops the list. Zimbabwe had planned to finance the DBM project through an off budget facility from proceeds of digital dividend. The frequency spectrum was offered to Netone at a discounted price of USD 200 million.13The mobile operator failed to raise the funds and the frequency spectrum has not been offered to anyone to this date. • Lack of enthusiasm and interest from the consumers. Even after providing free STBs to poor households in South Africa there is still low uptake of the STBs. • Lack of exciting content and consumers have not found compelling reason to migrate to the digital platform. If this is not solved then the DTT network will become a network for the poor. The middle and high income consumers will remain hooked to satellite pay platforms like DSTV which has content that appeals to all tastes. • Unavailability and affordability of STBs. The majority of consumers cannot afford the STBs and if governments do not provide subsidies. • Hassling and tussling over interoperability and encryption of the set top boxes between government and private players as was the case in South Africa. Private players’ position was driven by commercial interests while government’s concern was to have some control mechanism that would not allow supplied free STBs to be sold across the borders • Delays by some countries to finalise on choice of transmission standard to adopt. SADC as a region adopted the DVB-T2 standard in 2012 but Botswana later changed to adopt the Japanese standard in 2014 and Angola also changed to the ISDB-T standard as late as 2018 and Angola is just at the planning stage of implementation. Digital broadcast migration and exercise of rights Digital broadcasting is a developmental issue aimed at enhancing people’s right to information, thereby enabling them to make informed choices and decisions on issues that affect them. This also enables them to participate meaningfully in the socio economic development of the country. It is also an issue that deals with information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) which are widely recognised as key drivers for socio economic and cultural development. The diverse content service providers present divergent views on national issues and all viewpoints are accommodated and thoroughly interrogated. Opening up airwaves ordinarily should bring the following benefits: • an educated and informed nation • a productive and innovative nation • a compassionate, just and caring nation 13 http:techzim.co.zw/2016/07/ 22