<p dir="ltr">Walubengo,</p>
<p dir="ltr">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.<br>
</p>
<div class="gmail_quote">On 30 Dec 2013 10:36, "Walubengo J" <<a href="mailto:jwalu@yahoo.com">jwalu@yahoo.com</a>> wrote:<br type="attribution"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
@Ngigi, @Ndemo,<br>
<br>
this is the hard-talk that keeps me coming back to KICTAnet :-)<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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?<br>
<br>
Afrosinema continues :-)<br>
<br>
walu.<br>
<br>
--------------------------------------------<br>
On Mon, 12/30/13, Ngigi Waithaka <<a href="mailto:ngigi@at.co.ke">ngigi@at.co.ke</a>> wrote:<br>
<br>
Subject: Re: [kictanet] 3 Media houses protest Majanja's Digital Migration Ruling<br>
To: <a href="mailto:jwalu@yahoo.com">jwalu@yahoo.com</a><br>
Cc: "Consumer and Public Affairs" <<a href="mailto:cpa@cck.go.ke">cpa@cck.go.ke</a>>, "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>><br>
Date: Monday, December 30, 2013, 9:32 AM<br>
<br>
Daktari,<br>
Having looked at your comments, I would want<br>
to think the comparisons you have picked do not quite cut<br>
it.<br>
Fact, we currently have firms in Kenya apart<br>
from KBC who have a reliable analogue transmission network<br>
across the entire country and so far they have delivered on<br>
this.<br>
To upgrade this transmission network to pump<br>
out Digital Signals, instead of the Analogue is not rocket<br>
science. It can be done easily and would reuse such existing<br>
infrastrucure such as sites, masts, backup generators,<br>
logistics & security etc<br>
<br>
To say or assume that these firms could *not*<br>
provide a Digital Solution if asked to, simply does not<br>
add up. Not when they have 60% of what you need and the<br>
remaining parts e.g multiplexers, antennas are off-the-shelf<br>
parts.<br>
<br>
Second, to compare these firms to Mobitelea is<br>
really pushing it. Here you are talking of firms that have<br>
demostrated capacity in building & maintaining their own<br>
infrastructure and that are employing Kenyans to maintain<br>
and operate them.<br>
<br>
These are not politically connected individuals<br>
who have nothing else to offer apart from access to high<br>
places.<br>
These are solid Kenyan companies.<br>
Thirdly, this case cannot even be remotely<br>
compared to KPTC where competition had to be introduced to<br>
kickstart our Telco Sector. In this case you are actually<br>
consolidating the *infrastructure* industry to a single<br>
vendor not liberating it.<br>
<br>
You are going from more than 10 firms each with<br>
own transmission infrastrucure to two firms, one of which<br>
(KBC) as you have correctly indicated doesn't cut it.<br>
<br>
So infact you have consolidated our entire<br>
transmission industry into a single company, and then given<br>
that to the Chinese!<br>
If there is something that smells Mobitelea.<br>
That is it!<br>
Fourth you mention the China Telcom partnering<br>
up with Apple iPhone as an example of how countries<br>
sometimes partner with firms outside their own. But you fail<br>
to mention they never went to Apple as their first point of<br>
call. They first partnered up with Lenovo, HTC, Huawei<br>
(solid Chines firms) before the call to Cupertino was<br>
made.<br>
<br>
You take care of your own first before you go<br>
taking care of others. That's what smart countries &<br>
leadership does.<br>
Lastly, please let us differentiate btn the<br>
Infrastructure issues and Digital Migration issues.<br>
On Digital migration, we are headed there and<br>
there is not much support for Media firms on this. Wapende<br>
wasipende!<br>
However, on denying them the deal to build<br>
the Digital Infrastructure is very questionable and on the<br>
very least points to a certain 'Mobitelea' type<br>
deal, exactly what you say we ought to have avoided.<br>
<br>
But then again, This is Kenya. Where the<br>
impossible happens.<br>
Waithaka Ngigi<br>
Alliance Technologies<br>
<br>
Nairobi, Kenya<br>
<a href="http://www.A1.io" target="_blank">www.A1.io</a><br>
On 29 Dec 2013 21:36,<br>
"Bitange Ndemo" <<a href="mailto:bitange@jambo.co.ke">bitange@jambo.co.ke</a>><br>
wrote:<br>
<br>
Kivuva,<br>
<br>
Iam a supporter of building local capacities but whichever<br>
way CCK would<br>
<br>
have given out the license, there was going to be criticism.<br>
CCK wanted<br>
<br>
someone capable of putting up infrastructure after we<br>
discovered Signet<br>
<br>
was taking too long and Government did not have money. The<br>
financial bid<br>
<br>
for all the local firms did not measure up to what CCK had<br>
requested.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
You realize CCK has gone through this journey before and<br>
were hit hard<br>
<br>
when policy requirement needed 70 percent local<br>
participation, we got<br>
<br>
Mobitelea. Every policy pronouncement has some wheeler<br>
dealers behind<br>
<br>
singing patriotism. World over what is needed is the<br>
ability to provide<br>
<br>
the solution. You read the other day that China Telcom was<br>
partnering<br>
<br>
with I-Phone yet China is the greatest producer of mobile<br>
handsets. There<br>
<br>
comes a time when we must accept partnerships that will help<br>
us build<br>
<br>
capacity. We provided that opportunity in Signet but it<br>
was declined.<br>
<br>
When you focus on coverage to offer essential service, you<br>
look at<br>
<br>
capability as demonstrated in the financials.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
For many years we protected KPTC as a critical<br>
infrastructure but what we<br>
<br>
ended up with was poverty en masse. Our people would not<br>
afford<br>
<br>
telephony. Ever since we liberalized the communications<br>
sector, it is now<br>
<br>
contributing more than 5 percent to the economy up from zero<br>
percent. It<br>
<br>
is dangerous to focus on one aspect of migration<br>
infrastructure. If each<br>
<br>
of the broadcaster is given multiplexing ability, they will<br>
hoard the<br>
<br>
spectrum and shut out new entrants just when the creative<br>
economy is<br>
<br>
trying to pick up. The current Media is simply trying to<br>
protect its own<br>
<br>
interests considering the fact that we have new hard working<br>
Kenyans<br>
<br>
entering the broadcast arena. Why would we be supportive of<br>
oligopolistic<br>
<br>
practices when the industry is opening up to more players?<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Court or no court Migration will take place and new business<br>
models will<br>
<br>
emerge. This is where we need to focus our attention.<br>
The delaying<br>
<br>
tactics you are seeing is to disenfranchise more than 100<br>
new broadcasters<br>
<br>
that are born and bred in this country. I said before and<br>
would state<br>
<br>
here that not even Signet or PANG would build a sustainable<br>
business model<br>
<br>
without serious content aggregation strategy considering the<br>
fact that<br>
<br>
technology changes every 3 years.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Ndemo.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
> Ali, I'm afraid many listers are not getting your<br>
argument, that of<br>
<br>
> auctioning our critical resources to foreigners.<br>
<br>
><br>
<br>
> Many of us have been dragged into taking sides either<br>
for the<br>
<br>
> government (CCK), or the local media houses. If we<br>
divorce them from<br>
<br>
> this debate, maybe we will be more objective.<br>
<br>
><br>
<br>
> Let me digress, we have enough coal in Kitui to setup a<br>
powerplant<br>
<br>
> that can propell Kenya to vision 2030 and stop relying<br>
on poor<br>
<br>
> rainfall and other unreliable renewable energy like<br>
geothermal. But<br>
<br>
> what did we do with the coal? We auctioned it to the<br>
Chinese "who need<br>
<br>
> the power more than us." That is the same thing<br>
happening to our<br>
<br>
> spectrum resources.<br>
<br>
><br>
<br>
> Forget about procurement laws and let's think about<br>
economics that<br>
<br>
> will build the country without taking sides. Is it<br>
better to give the<br>
<br>
> frequency distribution to a local firm, and keep local<br>
dollars local,<br>
<br>
> or is it better to have that capital flight to China?<br>
We should even<br>
<br>
> give the third licence FREE to a consortium of local<br>
firms than<br>
<br>
> auction it for a Billion dollars to a foreigner.<br>
<br>
><br>
<br>
> Are we a nation that has lost national pride?<br>
<br>
><br>
<br>
> Remember CCK cannot have an objective stand on this<br>
since Wambua has<br>
<br>
> to respond with the official government position, and I<br>
cannot fault<br>
<br>
> him for that. Only civil society can take the high<br>
moral ground and do<br>
<br>
> what is good for Kenya. Advocate for our critical<br>
resources, airwaves,<br>
<br>
> minerals, tourism, ... to be controlled by locals.<br>
<br>
><br>
<br>
> Dr. Ndemo is the economist on the list. Can he teach us<br>
why developed<br>
<br>
> economies work so hard to support their industries,<br>
while Kenya works<br>
<br>
> extra hard to support foreign economies? What are the<br>
repercussions on<br>
<br>
> future generations?<br>
<br>
><br>
<br>
> Anybody who cannot get this argument is beyond<br>
uncolonization.<br>
<br>
><br>
<br>
> --<br>
<br>
> ______________________<br>
<br>
> Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya<br>
<br>
> <a href="http://twitter.com/lordmwesh" target="_blank">twitter.com/lordmwesh</a><br>
<br>
> <a href="http://kenya.or.ke" target="_blank">kenya.or.ke</a> | The Kenya we<br>
know<br>
<br>
><br>
<br>
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