Netherlands-based IT firm Exset has said plans are underway to launch a Digital Monetisation System (DMS) that will help the African nations to monetise digital TV and bridge the digital divide.
The company in a statement said DMS, already an award-winning solution, bridges the gap between “technology vendors and value-added service suppliers, creating television platforms that can be monetised where previously impossible, allowing populations to benefit from new information and entertainment services while allowing governments to achieve digital switchover.”
Some African countries such as Kenya and South Africa are on their way to switching from analogue to digital broadcasting, giving clearer signals and a broader variety of channels.
The switch to digital broadcasting opens up new opportunities for the continent, with services like Video on Demand set to become the norm.
Being new to the continent, digital broadcasting will have new monetisation means, whichExset is expected to introduce.
“The digital divide is a very real economic and socioeconomic issue and DMS is now a key weapon in tackling it. DMS is not about television but about digital transformation,” Global Head Sales & Chief Marketing Officer, Rahul Nehra, said.
Nehra said that by providing new revenue streams through “interactive public services and interactive advertising revenues, the Africa Page allows operators to provide services to populaces that have so far not been able to receive or afford them.”
The monetisation will allow broadcasters to provide digital broadcasting at a low price or even for free, because broadcasters will have a new revenue stream.
“The model proposes to drive revenues to the extent that the digitisation process becomes self-financing in three-five years,” Nehra said.
The digital broadcasting switch is the result of a decision that was arrived at in 2006 during the World Radio Conference, in which all countries of the world agreed to adopt digital TV broadcasting by 2015.
