Kenya fast tracks DTV migration

Information prime minister, Bitange Ndemo, says mobile telephony in Kenya has grown exponentially; exploding from 15 000 handsets a decade ago to 17.6 million, says IT News Africa.

The Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) has facilitated 16 schools-based ICT centres and four community tele-centres to drive access to ICT services in underserved areas in the country.

CCK has set the date of the country's transition to digital TV broadcasting to 2012 and has designated Kenya Broadcasting Corporation as signal distributor to fast track the migration.

The Chinese government has set out a plan to leverage broadcasting technology to promote the country's cultural industry, reports China View.

The plan was discussed and adopted in a meeting of the State Council, presided over by premier Wen Jiabao, noting that multimedia broadcasting, Web and mobile TV should be supported to upgrade the industry.

The premier added that trans-regional integration of cable television network, cinema lines, digital cinemas and publications should be enhanced.

Global airlines spend millions of dollars annually to upgrade their in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems, but iPods and other mobile entertainment gadgets could render all that useless, says The Washington Post.

Delta Air Lines has begun offering an Internet connection on board, allowing passengers to tweet on Twitter and update their Facebook status instead of flipping through channels on the IFE system.

According to analysts, the growing popularity of netbooks and MP3 players could further hasten IFE's demise, as more and more airline passengers carry these gadgets with them when they travel.