Analogue TV switch off set for December

The government has set December 13 as the new switch off date of the analogue television broadcasting signal in Nairobi and its environs.

Information Communication and Technology principal secretary Joseph Tiampati said on Tuesday the Digital Television Committee arrived at the new date following extensive consultation with stakeholders in the broadcasting industry.

“The switch off will be a phased process, Nairobi being the first region, in order to allow for smooth transition ahead of the global deadline,” Mr Tiampati told journalists.

The second phase of the switch off of the analogue signal will be done in other major towns such as Mombasa, Kisumu, Malindi, Nyeri, Meru, Webuye, Nakuru and Eldoret on March 30, next year.

The switch-over in other parts of the country will be done on June 30, next year.

Initially, Kenya and other East African Community member states had set December 2012 as the cutover date for the digital migration but only Tanzania succeeded in the move by switching off the analogue signal in Dar es Salaam on January 1, this year.

However, a fresh battle with the Consumer Federation of Kenya could delay the switch off, which the government says will yield a number of benefits for the country’s telecommunications sector.

The consumer lobby last year successfully challenged the government’s plan to switch Nairobi from analogue to digital broadcasting by December.

But, following discussions with the government, the lobby withdrew the court case in exchange for a role to steer the process.

Two weeks ago, the group however said it had withdrawn from the government-led Digital Television Committee, barely a month after the two parties agreed to cooperate in the process to realise a smooth transition.

Switching off the analogue signal is expected to free up more spectrum set to be used in the roll out of a 4G network across the country through a private partnership model.