Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri has highlighted South Africa's technological achievements in preparation for the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup and in astronomy.

Addressing the International Telecommunications Union's (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference in Turkey last week, Dr Matsepe-Casaburri highlighted South Africa's preparations for the soccer tournament, in the field of broadcast technology.

"Chairperson, as many would know, this is the largest sports event on earth. I would like to add that more significantly, it is probably the largest event on earth whose success relies significantly on telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructure, and therefore the importance of the ITU," the minister said.

"In this regard, and in line with the developments in the ITU Radio-communications sector, our country has started implementing its migration from analogue to digital Television broadcasting."

The move to digital broadcasting would bring better quality viewing, but of more importance to South Africans, more frequencies would be available for additional broadcasting channels.

This would enable the country to have dedicated channels to meet its education, health and language challenges among others, the minister explained.

"We will, as a result, also be able to provide additional ICT services to meet our developmental goals."

The country's science and technology sector may also play host to another significant international cooperative venture, this time off the pitch and towards the skies, in the field of astronomy.

"In addition to the modern and reliable telecommunications requirements of the FIFA World Cup, we are proud to announce that South Africa is with Australia, one of the remaining two countries that have been short-listed to host the Square Kilometre Array or SKA," said the minister.

This multi-billion Euro project consists of thousands of satellite dishes inter-connected through thousands of computers, she explained, and would be the foremost instrument in astronomy and fundamental physics.

"The proposed site for this project is in the Northern Cape Province, a place that is mainly desert.

"This project, to which the country has already allocated resources, is expected to contribute not only to global scientific work but also to our commitment to reduce poverty and un-employment," Ms Matsepe-Casaburri said

The SKA requires bandwidth in the region of terabits per second and the country has already started with the broadband infrastructure required for this and other scientific projects it is involved in.