The core element of the SKA should be in the centre of a radio interference-free region 100 kilometres in diameter. This is because radio emissions from the early universe - which the SKA will seek to capture - are in the range of a few hundred megaHertz, a frequency band now crowded on earth with TV and cellular telephone transmissions. To pick up these radio emissions - literally, radio signals from the past - the SKA will have a receiving surface of one million square metres, which is 100 times larger than the current biggest surface. The huge receiving surface will consist of many small antennae, divided into a core element and a periphery. The peripheral antennas could be between 1 000 and 10 000 kilometres away from the core element, making the SKA an intercontinental system. The signals received by all these antennae will be combined to form one single, big picture. The result will be an instrument capable of probing the secrets of the very early universe, just after the Big Bang. "The southern African region has become a premier destination for cutting-edge astronomy projects as a result of decisions taken by governments in the region," says Dr Rob Adam, director-general in the department of science and technology and chairperson of the South African project steering committee. "South Africa clearly has the history, experience and expertise in constructing, hosting and cooperating in major astronomical and space science projects to make the SKA a success." Comments Dr Khotso Mokhele, president of the National Research Foundation (NRF), the lead agency in the SKA project: "We already have the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) at Sutherland in the Northern Cape that will be the largest telescope in the southern hemisphere, while in neighbouring Namibia there is the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS) gamma ray observatory that will be the largest of its kind in the world. "We see the location of global astronomy infrastructure in our region as a way of promoting high-technology investment and of ensuring that local scientists are able to participate in world-class science at limited cost."