Court cases delay issuance of radio and TV licences
Two court cases challenging broadcasting regulations announced two years ago are holding back the issuance of radio and television licences to over 200 investors, the regulator said, hoping for a quick resolution to the dispute.
In 2009, Nature Foundation and Wezan Radio Station obtained judicial review orders restraining the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) from implementing the regulations borne out of the Kenya Broadcasting Act.
The two cases are due to be heard in the next few weeks.
New regime
“The CCK is not in a position to undertake licensing of service providers in the broadcasting sector due to the court injunction,” said CCK director general Charles Njoroge, hoping the licensing and regulatory framework will be active soon.
The 60 TV and 150 radio applications could not be processed due to lack of analogue frequencies, which would have been replaced by digital spectra in the new regime.
CCK intended to reduce the waiting list through digital broadcasting which is more efficient in allocating air waves because it allows more channels to be carried on the same band.
The country rolled out the switch from analogue to digital broadcasts last year with a 2012 deadline.
Signet, a subsidiary of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation - was incorporated to carry the digital content.
Unlike existing broadcasters who can use Signet in exchange for content, new investors will have to apply for a licence in accordance with the stalled licensing framework.
Upon obtaining the licence from CCK, the service provider will liaise with Signet (or any other licensed broadcast signal distributor) to be accommodated on the digital platform.
Digital infrastructure providers such as Signet are required to ensure that the service provider’s content is only broadcast in areas/locations as stipulated in the service provider’s licence.
Each digital infrastructure provider will determine and levy fees on each service provider accommodated on the digital platform to recover its operational expenses for running the digital platform.
Before implementing its fees broadcast signal distributors will be required to file its tariffs with the CCK for approval.
Fees shall apply to both community and commercial broadcasters.
The regulatory fees applicable to the broadcast signal distributor include initial licence fee for the duration of the signal distribution licence, annual operating fee paid every year whose level will be a specified percentage of the annual gross turnover, and frequency fees based on amount of spectrum assigned.
In the case of the broadcast content service provider, the regulatory fees applicable include initial license fee for the duration of the licence, an annual operating fee paid every year whose level will be a fixed minimum amount or based on a specified percentage of the annual gross turnover.
