15 August 2014
Jasco Power is
playing a significant role in South Africa’s migration to Digital Terrestrial
Television (DTT), providing the failover and protection needed for the new
enabling equipment being installed nationally by Sentech. The UPS’s designed,
manufactured, installed and commissioned by Jasco Power will help ensure the
reliability of DTT broadcasts when this service switches on, while provision of
Automatic Voltage Regulators (AVRs) at switching centres will deliver constant
‘clean’ power to sensitive equipment.
Sentech, is the
major signal distributor for most of the country’s broadcasters, including
commercial and community broadcasters, and public broadcaster, the SABC.
Installation of DTT equipment, which includes transmission and distribution
equipment (towers) to create a digital terrestrial broadcasting network, began a
few years ago with Jasco Power entering the fray in 2011. With International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) deadlines for global switch-over to DTT set for
mid-2015, gearing the service across its 200+ transmission sites in South
Africa is a priority.
Says Marco da
Silva, Managing Director for Jasco Power Solutions: “Jasco Power won the first
major UPS tender to equip 35 sites because of its proven local expertise in
this sector, its large base of skilled resources, and its ability to design,
manufacture, install and commission the needed equipment. We won the second
contract for another 35 sites because of our ability to deliver effectively and
efficiently.”
DTT is the
evolution of current analogue broadcasting technologies and refers to the
broadcasting of terrestrial television in digital format. DTT makes more
efficient use of radio spectrum, increasing broadcast capacity, providing
better quality images and lowering operating costs for broadcast and
transmission.
Explains da
Silva: Steady, reliable power supply to transmission equipment is crucial to
ensure uninterrupted broadcasts. The UPS’s were tailor-made to meet the
physical and capacity needs of each site with an emphasis on future scalability
and compactness of design, and as many of these sites were remote and difficult
to access, form factor was a key consideration.
Jasco Power
designed four different configurations to meet the needs of various sites. The
company then sourced the hardware components and developed the UPS’s. Notes da
Silva: “As we are geared for local integration, the UPS’ were manufactured in a
fraction of the time generally required – we were able to complete 100kVA modular
units in under five days rather than the six to eight weeks. In addition, our
highly skilled teams have completed the commissioning of the equipment against
considerable odds in good time.”
Four specialised
Jasco teams then delivered and installed the equipment, travelling across the
country to more than 70 sites, many of them remote and accessible only via 4x4
vehicles.
An award of a
contract to install AVRs at two of the client’s main switching sites followed.
“This equipment will ensure constant ‘clean’ power is available to sensitive
switching equipment,” says da Silva.
Underpinning
Jasco Power’s success on this project is strong team work and tight project
management. “We maintained full control of quality by keeping delivery on all
aspects of the project in-house, including commissioning of the equipment,”
says da Silva.
Installation of
equipment to enable DTT nationally is about 60-70 percent complete and the
project is ongoing.
Notes da Silva:
“We are pleased to be part of this important migration to DTT.”