<div dir="ltr">I don't see any problem with this. First of all the frequencies they have been allocated are to only broadcast their content. They cant carry anyone else channels. <div><br><div>This is limiting enough as it is and I wonder how they will turn this around. So we will have Signet & PANG as the bonafide free to air/paid providers. The Startimes and Gotvs ride on the PANG and Signet platfrom. </div><div><br></div><div>NTV,KTN and Citizen will have their own which may or may not be scrambled. </div></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jan 13, 2015 at 3:03 PM, James Mbugua via kictanet <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_extra"><div class="gmail_quote"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex"><p class="MsoNormal">Who’s who between Communications Authority and Competition
Authority?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, today, Daily Nation decided to lead the back page with
the news that the three media houses that run KTN, Citizen and NTV will be
importing over 1 million of their own set top boxes to retail at about Sh2500
by end of March.</p></blockquote><div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex"><p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Advanced-set-top-boxes-on-the-way/-/1056/2587252/-/ay617f/-/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.nation.co.ke/news/Advanced-set-top-boxes-on-the-way/-/1056/2587252/-/ay617f/-/index.html</a></p></blockquote><div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex"><p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">150,000 of them will be launched within this month.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It sounds like big news and indeed, occupies a prominent
space in the paper until, wait, haven’t there been set top boxes being sold in
the country on the streets, shops, supermarkets everywhere?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Yes, but belonging to Multichoice GOTV, Startimes and
independent set top box vendors.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, why is DN packaging its plans as big news?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Precisely because acting against the spirit and letter of
the Kenya Communications Amendment Act (2009) as well as other Restrictive
Trading countermeasures, the three outlets have been stifling information about
the existence of other players in the digital migration field even as they seek
to tie up digital migration in court.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In the meantime, they are importing their own equipment and
planning to use their platforms to exclusion of others to market themselves.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is illegal.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Communications Authority of Kenya must begin to enforce
the regulations and demand that these media houses, accord the same amount of
fair coverage to all players in the digital migration arena or risk losing
their signal distribution license.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Licenses must come with terms and conditions and one of
those should be that you cannot use existing licenses to unfairly black out
competition.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So far both the regulator and the other players have been
very tolerating of this consortium but it should be clear to them that it doesn’t
mean that they cannot be held up in the same courts of law they are using.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Other Free to Air channels like Kiss, K24, Family, GBS etc
can contest the award of the signal distribution license to a cartel that has
shown it is willing to abuse its market power to retain market share.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Vertical integration of media houses : - TV, Radio,
Newspaper can also be challenged to enforce fair competition not to have the
newspapers be used by their owners to advertise the consortium’s set top boxes
while refusing to carry adverts for rivals platforms like GoTV or Bamba TV?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Both the Competition Authority and the CAK have a
responsibility to speak up on this issue. Cofek, in the meantime after wreaking
havoc in the migration process with their busy body ways in 2013, have been
unusually quiet in the face of very anti-consumer behaviour by the three media
houses.</p>
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.<br>
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.<br>
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KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">Regards,<br><br>Mark Mwangi<br><br><a href="http://markmwangi.me.ke" target="_blank">markmwangi.me.ke</a><br><br><br><br><br></div>
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