JOHANNESBERG -- State-owned TV signal carrier Sentech has warned that if the government does not digitalize signal distributors soon, the global broadcast of the soccer World Cup 2010 from South Africa would "embarrass" the country.
Sentech exec chairman Gladwin Marumo, who recently returned from studying Germany's preparations for World Cup 2006, told a parliamentary committee last week that the country's signal capacity was way below the 40GB needed for just one stadium to broadcast to 3.6 billion viewers.
High-definition TV will be available for this year's World Cup, and world soccer ruling body Fifa expects the same from South Africa in 2010.
Marumo criticized the government for focusing on the South African Broadcasting Corp.'s switch to digital and ignoring those who send the signals out. Government allocated $41 million from 2005-07 to digitalize the SABC but turned down Sentech's demands for coin.
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