Driven by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), all
countries are required to switch from an analogue to a digital
television broadcasting signal by June 2015. PHOTO | TEA GRAPHIC
By A JOINT REPORT, The EastAfrican
In Summary
- Digital migration refers to the switch from an analogue broadcasting system to a digital broadcasting system.
- Driven by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), all countries are required to switch from an analogue to a digital television broadcasting signal by June 2015.
- The push for the switch started in 2006 when countries in Africa, the Middle East and Europe signed a treaty committing them to make a transition from analogue to digital broadcasting in six years.
- Digital broadcasting also increases the number of channels available to the viewer, and improves the audio and picture quality.
- In Kenya, court cases filed by top media houses have delayed the switch-off date from the initial deadline of June 30, 2013. The Nation Media Group, Royal Media Services and the Standard Group went to the Supreme Court to challenge the decision by the Communications Association of Kenya to grant the licence to Chinese owned Pan African Network Group, and Signet, a subsidiary of the state-owned Kenya Broadcasting Channel.
- They argued that the regulator ought to have given them a licence because they have invested heavily in the industry and control over 90 per cent of viewership.
- A court ruling in October, asking both parties to resolve the issue through dialogue, saw the regulator award a licence to the three media houses to distribute digital signals.
- Africa Digital Network, a consortium of these three companies, has not yet launched its service. Radio Africa Group has launched Bamba TV, a free-to-view service, ahead of the December 31 deadline.
- Kenya’s top media houses will have to purchase and distribute their own set-top boxes for a market that is currently saturated with decoders, according to CA estimates.
East Africa has begun the migration from
analogue to digital television broadcasting before the June 2015
deadline set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
In Kenya, Nairobi and its surrounding suburbs will
go digital by December 31, while Mombasa, Kisumu, Malindi and Eldoret
are set to switch off the analogue signal in February. The final phase
of the migration will be in far-flung towns such as Lodwar, Kibwezi,
Garissa and Kapenguria, with the entire country expected to make the
complete switchover by March 30.
In a press briefing last week, Cabinet Secretary
Fred Matiang’i said the December 31 deadline for Nairobi will not be
extended despite calls by the country’s three leading media houses to
postpone the switch-off.
“There have been a number of consultations as
directed by the Supreme Court to set migration dates that would be
suitable for Kenyans. The outcome was a phased analogue switch-off
timetable,” Mr Matiang’i said.
Uganda is planning to complete its digital
migration in June. The country switched to digital broadcasting in
August this year, starting with the central region covering a radius of
60km. Both digital and analogue platforms are running concurrently so
that those without DVB-T2 decoders can continue to access TV signals as
they prepare to acquire the devices ahead of the switch-off.
The country is rolling out the new broadcasting
platform in phases, as the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) lays
down the $2 million digital signal infrastructure across the country.
Disputes
Just as in Kenya, the migration process in Uganda
has been plagued by disputes between the regulator and leading
broadcasters over digital signal distribution licences. Private
broadcasters have rejected the awarding of a licence to state-owned
Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC), accusing it of being incompetent
and arguing that it is a competitor.
According to the regulator, the country is
estimated to have more than 300,000 pay-TV subscribers out of the
estimated 2 million television sets countrywide.
Currently, Uganda has five pay-TV service
providers — MultiChoice’s GOtv, StarTimes, Digital TV, Azam TV and the
Wananchi Group’s Zuku TV — selling DVB-T2 decoders ranging from $21 to
$88.
In Kenya, the digital signal covers 58 per cent of
the country. “As we speak, we have more digital signal in the country
than analog. Many regions are now covered by the digital signal, and
there are places in this country where TVs will work for the first time
because of this switchover,” Mutua Muthusi, the director of consumer and
public affairs at the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), told The EastAfrican.
According to the regulator, Nairobi has about 1.5
million analog TV sets; more than 600,000 can access digital channels
through cable and satellite, leaving about 900,000 TV sets that still
require to be connected to the digital platform. CA says the city has a
supply of more than 1.5 million set-top boxes, which can easily satisfy
demand.
New players
The past two weeks have seen new players enter
Kenya’s pay-TV market, which has in the past been dominated by DStv,
Zuku and StarTimes.
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