Regulator: Kenya excluded in digital migration waiver

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) has termed information published by a local newspaper regarding the extension of the digital migration beyond June 17, 2015 as ‘misleading.’

The Daily Nation reported that the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has allowed 30  African countries to extend their digital migration deadlines.

However, in a statement signed by CAK’s director-general Francis Wangusi dismissed the article and urged the media to stop giving misleading reports to Kenyans. “These reports are not only erroneous but are misleading as the perpetrators have not produced any evidence of such an action by ITU. In any case, as mentioned above, the procedure for amending Geneva 2006 (GE-06) Agreement is very well laid out.

“An amendment to the GE-06, which set the digital migration deadlines, cannot be undertaken unless it is done through a conference involving all the countries that signed the GE-06 Agreement,” the statement read in part.

According to CAK, some countries had asked for extension of the deadline in the VHF band nine years ago. “Some countries made specific requests for an extension of the deadline to 17th June 2020 but only in the VHF Band (174- 230 MHz) since most of their TV stations were operating in the VHF (as opposed to UHF) frequency band,” he said.

“Other countries not present at the conference, agreed to the extended deadline by virtue of their non-response to the ITU within 90 days of the conference on their intention to select the 17 June 2015 deadline. The countries were listed as part of the agreement in a footnote.”

All requests for extension of the deadline for the VHF Band were made 9 years ago by the member countries present at the RRC-06, CAK said. “Kenya attended the meeting and did not make any such request. Those countries that did not attend the conference had 90 days to make the request. This did not apply to Kenya,” said Wangusi.

For the GE-O6 Agreement to be revised, member states in the Planning Area popularly known as ITU Region 1 must be invited. These are countries in Africa, Western and Eastern Europe, the Arab States and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

CAK and four TV stations have been engrossed in a tussle over the analogue signal switch-off. The stations, NTV, QTV, KTN and Citizen, have been off air since Saturday February 14 and there is no end in sight for a consensus. Even presidential intervention last week bore no fruits.