Forward looking Namibia Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) followed up on a 1999 conference on broadcasting trends with a Digital Broadcasting conference in early March 2002. The conference was opened by the NBC Director General Dr Ben Mulongeni and the keynote  address delivered by the Deputy Minister: Foreign Affairs, Information and Broadcasting the honourable Gabes Shihepo.

Looking into the future and the application of digital broadcasting in the unique setting of Namibia, presentations at the conference covered digital terrestrial television, digital radio, coverage planning for digital, digital decoders and network management, telemetry systems and quality power.

SADIBA members participating at the event included Multichoice Africa, the SABC and Sentech. Gerhard Petrick, SADIBA Secretary represented the association and gave a presentation on the processes followed in developing policy and regulatory frameworks for digital broadcasting.In support of the endeavours of the NBC Mr Petrick presented a copy of the SADIBA Recommendations on Digital Broadcasting to the Chairman of the NBC Board of Directors, Mr Kaumbi as well as Mr J Musukuma, Secretary General of the Southern African Broadcasting Association (SABA).

The importance of regional co-operation and collaboration in view of common systems and standards and the possibility of arriving at cheaper mass-produced receivers for the region was deliberated. Further discussions at the conference have prepared the way for closer co-operation between SABA and SADIBA.

Under the guidance of Mr Rector Mutelo, Controller Technical Services (NBC), conference delegates arrived at recommendations for the NBC on the way forward. SADIBA hopes to continue making a meaningful contribution to debate on digital broadcasting in the region.

For more information on digital broadcasting in Southern Africa, contact SADIBA at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.