The Kenyan government is going ahead with plans to switch the country to digital broadcasting by June 2012, despite a court case seeking to stop the digital trial that began in 2009.
The lawsuit was filed by the Media Owners Association (MOA), which wants to halt the process, following the sale of frequencies to Swedish-owned Smart TV.
The association won a temporary suspension of transmission of signals to the government-owned Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) whose subsidiary, Signet, is distributing the signals.
The MOA claims Smart TV bought frequencies on the digital platform, without following procedure, and has made commercial gain at the association's expense. Consequently, the media owners withdrew their content from Signet.
Broadcasters under the MOA umbrella had been providing free-to-air content to Signet during the trial period. This had allowed both the analogue and digital broadcast to operate simultaneously ahead of the June 2012 deadline for migration to digital broadcasting.
But government says it acted within the law, and the broadcasters have frustrated and delayed migration by not supplying fresh and new content on the digital platform, as was agreed.
"Smart TV, in addition to paying KBC some Sh15 million, will provide subscribers with a bouquet of 17 to 20 high-quality local and international programmes, including African and Western movies, sports, news and showbiz, at Sh990 a month, [with subscribers] having bought a set-top box for about Sh5 000," said Chris Musyoka, member of the Digital Migration Secretariat.
Earlier, Bitange Ndemo, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communication, had told the Parliamentary Committee on Energy and Communications that government did not want a situation where Kenya would go to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) seeking an extension of the migration period.
"We gave every broadcaster a free channel so that they give us new content as they continue to advertise on the analogue system, but for one full year they never gave us any content," Ndemo told the committee.
However, the MOA, through its vice-chairman, Kiprono Kittony, is protesting the manner in which government, through the KBC, unilaterally gave the Swedish company eight channels meant for testing purposes.
Government, meanwhile, is now moving to speed up the adoption of digital migration by licensing two additional digital signal distributors. The expression of interest documents from prospective firms were opened last week.
"Nine companies will be competing for the two licences. Their evaluation is under way. The two successful firms will be awarded a 15-year licence, renewable for a further 10 years, to build and operate a countrywide broadcasting signal distribution and transmission infrastructure," said Musyoka.
The licensing of additional digital signal distributors is hoped to inject transparency, choice and competition, as government moves to beat its own 2012 target, ahead of the global 2015 deadline.
The Communications Ministry had earlier directed a move from DVB-T to DVB-T2, citing this as the technology other countries in Africa and Europe were using.
DVB-T2, the ministry said, has more benefits than DVB-T, including better quality picture and sound, 50% more programme channels in one TV frequency, wider coverage by a single TV transmitting station, accommodation of high-definition and standard-definition channels, mobile TV and digital audio.
Kenyans will have to buy DVB-T2 set-top boxes to enjoy these improved features, once digital broadcasting goes national. "We are currently providing digital service in Nairobi and its environs, and expect to roll out digital infrastructure this and next year to cover at least 90% of the country by the 2012 deadline," said Musyoka.
The shift to digital broadcast will usher in a higher demand for local content from broadcasters, paving the way for the long-awaited boost of the TV and movie industry.
Government is setting aside funds for organisations and institutions led by the Kenya Film Corporation, to promote content production ahead of the rollout of the digital signal countrywide.
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