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.
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 TheEastAfrican.
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.
Radio Africa Group, which owns a number of radio stations in the country and The Star newspaper, has invested $10 million in Bamba-TV, a new free-to-view service for which buyers pay $36 for a decoder to access more than 50 local and international channels. The company says it has set aside $4 million to buy broadcasting rights for international channels.
An awareness campaign was recently launched to help Nairobi residents manage a smooth transition. At the launch of the awareness campaign, Mr Matiang’i called on “all approved vendors and retailers to give consumers factual information,” if the migration is to be successful.
There have been reports of set-top box dealers misleading consumers into buying pay-TV decoders even when they asked for free-to-air set-top boxes.
“Part of our campaign is to inform people about the distinction,” said Mr Muthusi. “The experience from some countries in the region shows that people have been duped into purchasing pay-TV set top boxes only to discover that after the grace period they will be disconnected unless they pay their subscriptions.”
Free-to-air set-top boxes provide the viewer with all local channels; additional international channels cost $66. Some pay TV decoders go for as low as $2, but many consumers are not aware that they then have to pay a monthly subscription of $15.
“It is a big problem, and pay TV providers know that people don’t want to be locked out on D-day, so they come up with ‘really good’ deals for the unsuspecting buyer,” Mr Muthusi said.
In Uganda, the regulator has approved eight private vendors to import and supply the free-to-air set-top boxes in the hope of driving the prices down by increasing competition; but this has not happened.
The approved private firms, including Icomys Africa Ltd, Brivid Uganda Ltd and Widestar Digital Uganda Ltd, are selling their decoders at an average of $75, about $30 more than the same devices cost in Rwanda.
Jean Baptiste Mutabazi, the head of communications at the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (Rura), said the transition was completed when the country resolved its set-top box deficit.
“We have moved from analogue to digital and this chapter has been closed. Now we have over 192,000 decoders in supply,” Mr Mutabazi said.
Rwanda, like other countries in the region, struggled to meet its own deadlines. The country missed two deadlines on December 31, 2012, and July 1, 2014. The regulator said challenges in procurement caused the delays.
The country needed 80,000 set-top boxes to make the switch to digital, but suppliers had shipped only 21,000 into the country.
Rwanda’s digital migration process was a four-phase affair that started in January 2014.
Rwanda’s digital migration process was a four-phase affair that started in January 2014.
Rura switched off the analogue signal in Kigali on January 31; on March 31 and May 31, the northwest and east respectively were barred. The regulator says the digital coverage currently stands at 95 per cent.
The last phase of the switchover from analogue transmission to digital broadcasting will involve the west and southwest regions. Rwanda will become the second country in sub Saharan Africa after Tanzania to switch off its analogue television signal.
With the switch off, over 51,000 people are currently unable to access programmes. Rwanda’s 2010 census reported that over 192,800 homes in the country having television sets. Of those, 141,260 homes — 70 per cent of all people with TV sets — have acquired decoders, which means that about 51,540 (27 per cent) do not have decoders.
Decoders cost less in Rwanda compared with three years ago. Suppliers like Trans-African Container Transport Ltd sell a decoder at Rwf32,000 ($46), Sorim at Rwf28,500 ($42), and Star Times at Rwf23,500 ($34).
Tanzania is also on the last stretch of rolling out the service across the country.
Coverage
According to the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), the digital terrestrial television network rollout had covered major cities and towns such as Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, Tanga, Arusha, Moshi, Mbeya, Singida, Tabora, Musoma, Bukoba and Kahama by May.
By the end of this year, TCRA says most of the country will be covered. The regulator said the first phase of analogue switch-off took place started on December 31, 2012 and ended on April 30, 2013.
The second phase started on March 31, 2014 and ended on October 31, 2014. The target is to have full digital switchover by the end of 2014.
The East African
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