In the interest of expediting the digital signal roll out countrywide, it’s imperative to drive consumer awareness on digital television broadcasting as well as the types of available set top boxes in the market. Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) in partnership with the Taita Taveta County Government today in Voi at the Moi Stadium flagged off an informative roadshow to educate the public on the current digital broadcast offering. The roadshow kicked off from Voi and will be stopping over at Kibwezi, Kitui and Namanga.
Speaking at the flag off event, Communications Authority of Kenya (CA), Director of Multi-Media Services, Eng. Leo Boruett said, “After the successful digital migration across various parts of the country, we received various issues on matters relating to the same. As a regulator we have set out to demystify the misinformation that has been going round and thus the reason we are undertaking this campaign. We also seek to educate the consumers on the benefits of digital TV and how to make informed choices whilst purchasing approved set-top boxes.”
In the current market there are 2 types of set top boxes available, free to air TV and Pay TV. Free to air TV initial purchase cost is high, attracts no monthly subscription fees and users have access only to FTA channels. Pay TV initial purchase cost is low, attracts monthly subscription fees and channels are limited to your monthly subscription or bouquet and will receive FTA channels if subscription is up to date.
As at December 2015, over 3 Million set-top-boxes have been sold in the Kenyan Market with the majority being Pay TV. There has been lack of sufficient awareness regarding the differences between pay TV and Free to Air decoders, which had led some members of the public to opt for the wrong option in the market. In light of the foregoing, this awareness campaign will focus on the options available to consumers in respect to digital set top boxes or decoders.
More so consumers need to be educated on the benefits of digital migration such as better picture and sound quality, increased number of TV channels hence diversity and more thematic or focused channels, creation of more businesses, employment for youth and creative artists, freed frequencies (digital dividend) to support other services such as broadband and mobile telephony and creation of more local content.
Taita Taveta County Executive Committee Member for Industrialization, Energy, Research & ICT Hon. Eng. Elijah Mwandoe applauded the Authority’s effort to create awareness on the issues raised on digital migration “As we celebrate the success of the cross-over to the digital broadcasting platform in Taita Taveta County, there is need for us to equally focus on the benefits we can harness from digital broadcasting. We can tap into the potential of the broadcasting sector to provide employment by working as content creators, aggregators, distributors or producers for the development of a vibrant local content industry. This can further be attested to by the famous Coast Film Festival, which sees filmmakers, actors and actresses from the region recognized for their role in promoting local content.”
The roadshow together with associated supplier information centers will sensitize consumers to acquire Set Top Boxes (STBs) and Integrated Digital TVs (IDTVs), the benefits of digital migration, the difference between Pay TV and free to air (FTA) STBs, how to connect STBs and TV aerials to TVs/IDTV’s, where to point TV aerials in areas with digital coverage and where to purchase STBs and IDTV’s.