Digital migration: CA's action cause for worry

NAIROBI: The Pan African Network Group (PANG), the Chinese consortium licensed by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), has come under criticism from the Digital Broadcasters Association which incorporates all the media houses that have already adopted the digital signal transmission.

The media houses now claim PANG overcharges them and should be de-licensed to pave way for an Independent Transmission Authority. That was expected and the fact that a different consortium of industry players other than those under the Africa Digital Network (ADN) are complaining, raises great concerns.

Only last month, CA sensationally claimed it was not aware PANG and Government-owned Signet were charging subscribers for using their digital set-top boxes. It will not come as a surprise therefore if CA were to deny knowledge of the hefty charges these companies impose on local media houses for carrying their signals.

The contention between CA and ADN has been about copyright. In truth, it makes very poor economic sense for a company that does not originate content to charge the content producer for distribution when the content producer can do the distribution.

Yet for a Government that is eager to please foreigners at the expense of taxpayers, that looks fine. The complaint by DBA simply vindicates concerns raised by ADN, which has requested for ample time to set up installations for digital transmissions and to distribute their own set-top boxes. These set-top boxes will not draw monthly charges as is the case with PANG or Signet. And even though transmission by the major television stations is set to resume today for viewers in Nairobi and its environs, the Government's determination to subjugate independent media houses became apparent yet again when President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered that State firms place advertisements on Government-owned digital platforms.

While this could help Government save costs (about Sh1.5 billion each year) it would be a blow to the development of a free and vibrant media, a key ingredient of democracy and job losses as media houses cut costs.

Combined, the three media houses pay at least Sh4 billion in taxes (directly and indirectly). The President's directive is therefore akin to burning the haystack to get the needle. What's more, there is grotesque wastage in Government and it would net more billions if it were curtailed.