By James Ratemo
Television broadcasting in Kenya will never be the same again after this historic revolution.
Viewers in Nairobi and its environs can now receive digital signals with the whole country expected to go digital by 2012, ahead of the 2015 global deadline.
Unveiling the Phase One of the transition to Digital Television Broadcasting, President Kibaki directed Ministers of Finance and Information to work out mechanisms of reducing cost of the transition for Kenyans.
“It is worth noting that only South Africa (in Africa) has embarked on the transition from the analogue system, partly driven by the fact that the FIFA World Cup is being held there next year,” said Kibaki.
The migration to Digital Television Broadcasting will come at a cost, he said, rendering older TV sets obsolete. It will also require owners of non-digital colour TV sets to acquire special converter boxes to remain relevant.
To mitigate the costs of the transition, Kibaki directed the two ministries to find means of providing tax relief for importation of the gadget.
The President also directed the Ministry Communications to educate Kenyans on the Digital Television Broadcasting.
“It is important that Kenyans are made aware of the benefits of digital broadcasting, like superior image and sound clarity, interactive communication, and data broadcasting,” he said.
Broadcasting is poised for growth following the commencement of the process that will eventually see television stations broadcast their signals in a digital format by 2012.
“The sub-sector will soon surpass development levels witnessed in the telecommunications segment of the ICT sector,” said Phillip Okundi chairman Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK).
Digital transmission will allow use of many frequencies, which are currently a scarce resource.
There are eighteen commercial free to air television stations and seventeen pay TV providers.
Investors have, however, made more than 60 applications for television stations and 150 radio stations that CCK cannot license due to limitations in number of frequencies in the analogue system.
David Waweru the Managing Director, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) said investing in the sector would no longer need to be concerned about infrastructure deployment and maintenance.
The national broadcaster will play the role of maintaining the digital TV signal distribution platform through its recently established entity Signet.
“It will be cheap and convenient,” he said.
Kibaki said the ICT sector would play part in conversion of the economy from being predominantly agricultural to one that is service driven.
“ICT is facilitating job and wealth creation. The sector contributes about 2.8 per cent of GDP. We envisage this to rise to 8 per cent by 2012,” he said.
Broadcasters, however, say this would be an opportunity for employment creation.
“There will be an increase in the opportunities,” said Rose Kimotho chairperson Media Owners Association.
The news at a glance
-The International Telecommunications Union requires that all nations migrate to digital broadcasting by 2015
- Kenya’s ICT sector contributes about 2.8 per cent of GDP, which is expected to rise to 8 per cent by 2012
-Digital broadcasting comes with clarity of pictures and sound
–Kenya is second in Africa, after South Africa, to start shifting from analogue to digital broadcasting.
- It covers Nairobi, Kajiado, Machakos, Naivasha and Murang’a
