[kictanet] Digital TV Migration

Fri Dec 17 22:43:46 EAT 2010

The Daily Nation also published it.

Rgds
Grace

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have the strength to survive, you have the power to succeed. Life is all about choices we make depending upon the situation we are in. Go forth and rule the World!

> From: mureithi at summitstrategies.co.ke
> Date: Fri, 17 Dec 2010 17:24:57 +0300
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Digital TV Migration
> CC: kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> To: ggithaiga at hotmail.com
> 
> It is also in the standard newspaper 
> 
> 
> cheers 
> 
> Muriuki Mureithi 
> 
> What can u do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family. -Mother
> Teresa
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: kictanet-bounces+mureithi=summitstrategies.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> [mailto:kictanet-bounces+mureithi=summitstrategies.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.k
> e] On Behalf Of bitange at jambo.co.ke
> Sent: 17 December 2010 16:06
> To: mureithi at summitstrategies.co.ke
> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Digital TV Migration
> 
> Listers,
> Below please find my response to a recent article on Digital Migration. I
> am sadly told that a major media house could not publish it thus denying
> me the right of reply as mandated in the Media Act, 2007. Gladly other
> media houses, that is, the Star and People Daily published it. I thought
> the Bill of Rights was meant for everybody but now it is clear.
> 
> 
> Ndemo.
> 
> Migration from analogue to digital broadcast on right course
> Bitange Ndemo
> 
> The opinion article on the new broadcasting regime in the country entitled
> 'Giving frequencies to foreigners wrong' in the Daily Nation of Wednesday
> December 11 was, to say least ill informed, premised as it was on wrong
> assumptions. The author either knowingly or out of ignorance, created the
> impression that the Government's decision to fast track migration from
> analogue to digital broadcasting is fraught with anomalies. Far, from this
> erroneous viewpoint, the opposite is in fact true. It is therefore
> important that the misinformation that could inadvertently mislead the
> sector and the public be set straight at the earliest opportunity.
> It is an indisputable fact that broadcasting the world over is going
> digital with the deadline for digital migration set for June 2015. While
> this deadline is the absolute upper limit for the change over, many
> regions of the world have already made the switch and Kenya is determined
> to be on the cutting edge of these new technologies by 2012. It is for
> this reason that, two years ago, the Government created the Digital
> Transitional Committee (DTC) with able representation of Media Owners. The
> Committee has held several consultative meetings whose minutes are well
> documented. It is therefore either ignorant or malicious for the author to
> claim that the Digital Terrestrial Television matters have not been
> inclusive.
> Indeed, it is the Committee that came up with a framework for
> implementation of the digital migration and recommended that the
> Government creates a migration vehicle leading to the creation of Signet
> as a subsidiary of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation.
> During one of the documented meeting of the DTC, members grappled with the
> challenge of the slow pace of analogue to digital migration. As redemptive
> action, the Committee recommended that existing broadcasters take up more
> channels at a cost while KBC was encouraged to open doors for investors on
> the platform. Indeed, some of the TV broadcasters operating today are
> themselves beneficiaries of similar decisions in the past.
> In addition, the committee urged the Private sector to create a new
> competing platform to facilitate speedy migration. The intent was to
> enhance delivery of local content to attract Kenyans to migrate. Claims
> that the media has not been involved in the process are therefore either
> insincere or motivated by other ulterior factors.
> During the past one year of piloting the digital platform, local
> broadcasters did not honour an agreement for development of new, local
> content as the main enticer for viewers to migrate. Nonetheless, the
> Government, understanding that frequencies are a national resource, is
> keen to see how they can be leveraged for development, particularly
> creation of jobs in the media industry.
> The article sanctimoniously laments the Ministry's failure "to entrench
> frequencies licensing and allocation regime into law". Well, media owners
> have themselves to blame given that one of their own went to court to
> challenge the new broadcast regulatory and legal framework and with court
> granting an injunction, the matter remains in abeyance until a verdict is
> reached. The media owners can therefore not blame the Government for the
> unfortunate situation where there is no single licensed broadcaster in
> Kenya toady.
> The article seems to suggest that KBC has engaged in fraudulent business
> practices in licensing Smart TV and this seems to be the source of the
> author's indignation. An analysis of facts would reveal the opposite. The
> Kenya Broadcasting Act allows the corporation to enter into business
> partnerships. Indeed KBC owns 40 per cent of DSTV, a pay TV channel and
> has a mutually beneficial contractual agreement with K24, and Kiss TV. 
> There is therefore nothing out of the ordinary for KBC to go into a
> business arrangement Smart TV. Indeed, KBC has no partnership agreements
> with local broadcasters other than the fact that they were requested to
> bring in content to be broadcast simultaneously with their analogue
> frequencies for free while the platform was being piloted.
> The broadcast sector should indeed brace itself for competition given that
> the Signet platform will eventually create more than 600 channels. Many
> of these channels will be on free to air (accessed without pay) and with
> at least 40 per cent local content. As soon as the court matter is
> settled, the content regulations will be enforced. This is already the
> case in developed countries where thousands of channels have sprung up
> riding on new technologies. The ground has literally shifted and broadcast
> players ought to take cognizance of this and accept that the digital march
> is irreversible.
> A major contention of the article is that copy right would be infringed
> on; this is a contradiction in terms. Any set top box can access all free
> to air channels and indeed all broadcasters shall be required to have at
> least one free to air channel. It is therefore not correct to state that
> poor people will not access TV once they buy a set top box. The article
> is indeed a pointer to the fact that content will be a major determinant
> of success in broadcasting but at the same time it will be a major source
> of contention.
> Given recent development in the broadcast sector which the article quotes,
> it is clear that the industry is intent on venting off competition.
> However, the Government will not sit on its laurels as cartels or
> monopolies in broadcast content that run counter to the letter and spirit
> of the constitution get entrenched. In furtherance of the bill of rights
> in the new constitution, we seek to uphold the principle that any Kenyan
> of sound mind and means shall be given opportunity to broadcast. The
> technology accords us the means to accommodate as many broadcasters as
> possible, save issues such as national security and quality. Indeed it is
> along these policy lines that we have reserved at least one channel for
> every county.
> 
> Dr Ndemo is the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and
> Communication
> 
> 
> 
> ---------------------------------------------- 
> This message has been scanned for viruses and
> dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is
> believed to be clean.
> ---------------------------------------------
> "easy access to the world" 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> kictanet mailing list
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
> 
> This message was sent to: mureithi at summitstrategies.co.ke
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mureithi%40summitstrate
> gies.co.ke
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> kictanet mailing list
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
> 
> This message was sent to: ggithaiga at hotmail.com
> Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ggithaiga%40hotmail.com

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20101217/8711aaef/attachment.htm>