[kictanet] 3 Media houses protest Majanja's Digital Migration Ruling

Mon Dec 30 17:20:09 EAT 2013

@Kioko,

its true the local media houses have not sufficiently invested/supported local content production...but that does not mean they lack local content. Like safcom with MPESA, these media houses have a killer application. Its called Prime Time News. That is where their audience and advertisement revenue is. Signet and PANG and even DSTV are all dead in the Kenyan market without KTN/NTV/Citizen 7pm and 9pm news.

That is why the media house by their own volition opted to go off air to leverage their arguments in court. I have elaboreted more on this thinking.
@
http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/blogs/dot9/Kenya-Digital-Migration-NTV-KTN-Citizen/-/1959700/2129020/-/view/asBlogPost/-/t26aosz/-/index.html

walu.
------------------------------
On Mon, Dec 30, 2013 10:42 AM AST (Arabian) Bernard Kioko wrote:

>Walubengo,
>
>They actually do not really have the content. Most of them ignored putting
>in place content production initiatives and opted to license n pay poorly
>for the content they air now. International and local companies have the
>content. The framework cck is implementing ensures that these real owners
>of the content can establish a tv channel quick and easy.....and that is
>the great fear these media houses have.
> On 30 Dec 2013 10:36, "Walubengo J" <jwalu at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> @Ngigi, @Ndemo,
>>
>> this is the hard-talk that keeps me coming back to KICTAnet :-)
>>
>> my 2pence is that this war is NOT about digital migration - given that
>> both Government and Media houses agree on that.  This was is about who
>> controls the digital signal distribution (licence).  Its sort of a chicken
>> and egg problem in that the current digital signal distributors
>> (Signet/PANG) dont have "local" content but have the license to distribute.
>>  While the current local content guys (media houses) have the content but
>> lack the digital license to distribute.
>>
>> A license without content is like a gun without a bullet.  A bullet
>> without a gun is of no use either.  Who will blink first?
>>
>> Afrosinema continues :-)
>>
>> walu.
>>
>> --------------------------------------------
>> On Mon, 12/30/13, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi at at.co.ke> wrote:
>>
>>  Subject: Re: [kictanet] 3 Media houses protest Majanja's Digital
>> Migration Ruling
>>  To: jwalu at yahoo.com
>>  Cc: "Consumer and Public Affairs" <cpa at cck.go.ke>, "KICTAnet ICT Policy
>> Discussions" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>>  Date: Monday, December 30, 2013, 9:32 AM
>>
>>  Daktari,
>>  Having looked at your comments,  I would want
>>  to think the comparisons you have picked do not quite cut
>>  it.
>>  Fact, we currently have firms in Kenya apart
>>  from KBC who have a reliable analogue transmission network
>>  across the entire country and so far they have delivered on
>>  this.
>>  To upgrade this transmission network to pump
>>  out Digital Signals, instead of the Analogue is not rocket
>>  science. It can be done easily and would reuse such existing
>>  infrastrucure such as sites, masts, backup generators,
>>  logistics & security etc
>>
>>  To say or assume that these firms could *not*
>>  provide a Digital Solution if asked to,  simply does not
>>  add up. Not when they have 60% of what you need and the
>>  remaining parts e.g multiplexers, antennas are off-the-shelf
>>  parts.
>>
>>  Second, to compare these firms to Mobitelea is
>>  really pushing it. Here you are talking of firms that have
>>  demostrated capacity in building & maintaining their own
>>  infrastructure and that are employing Kenyans to maintain
>>  and operate them.
>>
>>  These are not politically connected individuals
>>  who have nothing else to offer apart from access to high
>>  places.
>>  These are solid Kenyan companies.
>>  Thirdly, this case cannot even be remotely
>>  compared to KPTC where competition had to be introduced to
>>  kickstart our Telco Sector. In this case you are actually
>>  consolidating the *infrastructure* industry to a single
>>  vendor not liberating it.
>>
>>  You are going from more than 10 firms each with
>>  own transmission infrastrucure to two firms, one of which
>>  (KBC) as you have correctly indicated doesn't cut it.
>>
>>  So infact you have consolidated our entire
>>  transmission industry into a single company, and then given
>>  that to the Chinese!
>>  If there is something that smells Mobitelea.
>>  That is it!
>>  Fourth you mention the China Telcom partnering
>>  up with Apple iPhone as an example of how countries
>>  sometimes partner with firms outside their own. But you fail
>>  to mention they never went to Apple as their first point of
>>  call. They first partnered up with Lenovo, HTC, Huawei
>>  (solid Chines firms) before the call to Cupertino was
>>  made.
>>
>>  You take care of your own first before you go
>>  taking care of others. That's what smart countries &
>>  leadership does.
>>  Lastly,  please let us differentiate btn the
>>  Infrastructure issues and Digital Migration issues.
>>  On Digital migration,  we are headed there and
>>  there is not much support for Media firms on this. Wapende
>>  wasipende!
>>  However,  on denying them the deal to build
>>  the Digital Infrastructure is very questionable and on the
>>  very least points to a certain 'Mobitelea' type
>>  deal, exactly what you say we ought to have avoided.
>>
>>  But then again, This is Kenya. Where the
>>  impossible happens.
>>  Waithaka Ngigi
>>  Alliance Technologies
>>
>>  Nairobi, Kenya
>>  www.A1.io
>>  On 29 Dec 2013 21:36,
>>  "Bitange Ndemo" <bitange at jambo.co.ke>
>>  wrote:
>>
>>  Kivuva,
>>
>>  Iam a supporter of building local capacities but whichever
>>  way CCK would
>>
>>  have given out the license, there was going to be criticism.
>>   CCK wanted
>>
>>  someone capable of putting up infrastructure after we
>>  discovered Signet
>>
>>  was taking too long and Government did not have money.  The
>>  financial bid
>>
>>  for all the local firms did not measure up to what CCK had
>>  requested.
>>
>>
>>
>>  You realize CCK has gone through this journey before and
>>  were hit hard
>>
>>  when policy requirement needed 70 percent local
>>  participation, we got
>>
>>  Mobitelea.  Every policy pronouncement has some wheeler
>>  dealers behind
>>
>>  singing patriotism.  World over what is needed is the
>>  ability to provide
>>
>>  the solution.  You read the other day that China Telcom was
>>  partnering
>>
>>  with I-Phone yet China is the greatest producer of mobile
>>  handsets.  There
>>
>>  comes a time when we must accept partnerships that will help
>>  us build
>>
>>  capacity.  We provided that opportunity in Signet but it
>>  was declined.
>>
>>  When you focus on coverage to offer essential service, you
>>  look at
>>
>>  capability as demonstrated in the financials.
>>
>>
>>
>>  For many years we protected KPTC as a critical
>>  infrastructure but what we
>>
>>  ended up with was poverty en masse.  Our people would not
>>  afford
>>
>>  telephony.  Ever since we liberalized the communications
>>  sector, it is now
>>
>>  contributing more than 5 percent to the economy up from zero
>>  percent.  It
>>
>>  is dangerous to focus on one aspect of migration
>>  infrastructure.  If each
>>
>>  of the broadcaster is given multiplexing ability, they will
>>  hoard the
>>
>>  spectrum and shut out new entrants just when the creative
>>  economy is
>>
>>  trying to pick up.  The current Media is simply trying to
>>  protect its own
>>
>>  interests considering the fact that we have new hard working
>>  Kenyans
>>
>>  entering the broadcast arena. Why would we be supportive of
>>  oligopolistic
>>
>>  practices when the industry is opening up to more players?
>>
>>
>>
>>  Court or no court Migration will take place and new business
>>  models will
>>
>>  emerge.  This is where we need to focus our attention.
>>   The delaying
>>
>>  tactics you are seeing is to disenfranchise more than 100
>>  new broadcasters
>>
>>  that are born and bred in this country.  I said before and
>>  would state
>>
>>  here that not even Signet or PANG would build a sustainable
>>  business model
>>
>>  without serious content aggregation strategy considering the
>>  fact that
>>
>>  technology changes every 3 years.
>>
>>
>>
>>  Ndemo.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>  > Ali, I'm afraid many listers are not getting your
>>  argument, that of
>>
>>  > auctioning our critical resources to foreigners.
>>
>>  >
>>
>>  > Many of us have been dragged into taking sides either
>>  for the
>>
>>  > government (CCK), or the local media houses. If we
>>  divorce them from
>>
>>  > this debate, maybe we will be more objective.
>>
>>  >
>>
>>  > Let me digress, we have enough coal in Kitui to setup a
>>  powerplant
>>
>>  > that can propell Kenya to vision 2030 and stop relying
>>  on poor
>>
>>  > rainfall and other unreliable renewable energy like
>>  geothermal. But
>>
>>  > what did we do with the coal? We auctioned it to the
>>  Chinese "who need
>>
>>  > the power more than us." That is the same thing
>>  happening to our
>>
>>  > spectrum resources.
>>
>>  >
>>
>>  > Forget about procurement laws and let's think about
>>  economics that
>>
>>  > will build the country without taking sides. Is it
>>  better to give the
>>
>>  > frequency distribution to a local firm, and keep local
>>  dollars local,
>>
>>  > or is it better to have that capital flight to China?
>>  We should even
>>
>>  > give the third licence FREE to a consortium of local
>>  firms than
>>
>>  > auction it for a Billion dollars to a foreigner.
>>
>>  >
>>
>>  > Are we a nation that has lost national pride?
>>
>>  >
>>
>>  > Remember CCK cannot have an objective stand on this
>>  since Wambua has
>>
>>  > to respond with the official government position, and I
>>  cannot fault
>>
>>  > him for that. Only civil society can take the high
>>  moral ground and do
>>
>>  > what is good for Kenya. Advocate for our critical
>>  resources, airwaves,
>>
>>  > minerals, tourism, ... to be controlled by locals.
>>
>>  >
>>
>>  > Dr. Ndemo is the economist on the list. Can he teach us
>>  why developed
>>
>>  > economies work so hard to support their industries,
>>  while Kenya works
>>
>>  > extra hard to support foreign economies? What are the
>>  repercussions on
>>
>>  > future generations?
>>
>>  >
>>
>>  > Anybody who cannot get this argument is beyond
>>  uncolonization.
>>
>>  >
>>
>>  > --
>>
>>  > ______________________
>>
>>  > Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya
>>
>>  > twitter.com/lordmwesh
>>
>>  > kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we
>>  know
>>
>>  >
>>
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>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
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>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
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