Now Government publishes new rules on control of digital signals

Kenya: The Government has amended communication regulations in a move that may pave the way for switch-off from analogue to digital TV broadcasting.

Communications and Technology Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i last week amended policy guidelines to allow local broadcasters to apply for a licence to distribute and control their own digital signals.

The amendment in a Gazette notice published last week gives hope for an end to the stand-off between media owners and the Government on how the digital signals should be distributed.

The decision by Dr Matiang'i came after the Supreme Court directed the Government and media houses to agree on how the signals would be distributed.

Good governance

The reviewed guidelines state the "The licensing of signal distribution providers shall take into consideration the need "to optimise the utilisation of existing broadcasting infrastructure."

They also provide that The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) shall consider the merits of issuance of other broadcast signal distribution and self-provisioning licences.

"The licensing shall be done in conformity with the national values and principles of good governance provided under Article 10 of the Constitution."

The Supreme Court made the ruling on September 29. It allowed the CA to discuss with the mainstream media houses - Standard Group, Nation Media Group and Royal Media Services - on broadcasting of the digital signals.

The matter had been taken to court for determination on whether the CA's predecessor, Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), lawfully allocated a broadcast signal distribution (BSD) licence to Pan African Network Group Kenya Limited (Pang), a company that is wholly owned by foreigners.

The court was also asked to determine whether CCK infringed on the fundamental rights of local media houses under the National Signal Network (NSN) when it denied them a BSD licence.

The Supreme Court set aside an earlier order by the Court of Appeal which annulled Pang's licence.

It, however, ordered that CA ensures that the licence issued to Pang meets the constitutional and statutory requirements.

The court also set aside the Court of Appeal's decision to order an independent regulator to issue a licence to National Signal Networks without going through the procurement procedures.

The judges ordered CA to consider the merits of the application for a BSD licence by NSN within 90 days, and to inform the court of its decision regarding the application for a licence by NSN and other local broadcasters.

The digital migration has stalled following the protracted legal disputes and disagreements between the regulator and the media houses. It is a step towards a regime that will allow the local media houses to control their own digital signals

At the moment, the distribution is done by Signet, a company owned by the State broadcaster Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) and Pang.

Kenya, like all other nations, is expected to have make a complete migration from analogue to digital television by June 2015.

The deadline was set by the International Telecommunications Union at the 2006 Radio Communication Conference in Geneva.