Let consumers be at the centre of all digital considerations

Discussing matters that are before court can at times be considered contempt of court.

It is my feeling, however, that when a particular matter is consistently in the public sphere because it has persisted for so long — in and out of court — and especially if it happens to be an issue that touches on society, then perhaps we might be excused for showing an interest in it.

Right now what is going on in my mind is the matter of migration from analogue to digital.

One would have thought it is an easy matter but many different elements — all related to the decision to migrate — continue to emerge as we proceed.

Since this decision has been made and there is obviously no going back, then the various issues that arise must be dealt with.

The biggest and most crucial dimension of this debate is the universal obligation to air certain content for free.

From what I see, the small matter of set-top boxes that have to be installed to allow the migration is at the centre of the free-to-air TV discourse.

NOT AGREEING

Apparently there are those set-top boxes that function like the pay TV and therefore controlled by the provider and so can be switched off when the subscription runs off.

Then there are those that are not controlled in that manner and so cannot be switched off.

It would seem to me that all the interested parties are not agreeing on this matter.

It would of course have helped if the relevant authorities had made sure that in this regard, the citizens are not inconvenienced in any way.

There also seems to be issues of business competition which of course is expected.

In fact in the middle of it all there is a Chinese company calling itself the Pan African Networks group.

Over and above this, there are questions about some pay TV channels airing content that is from other media houses that are not pay TV. This matter is truly complex.

The complicated nature of this whole debate not withstanding we must not lose sight of what the most important consideration should be.

I am convinced that the manner in which all the stakeholders in this debate look at the matters at hand should at all times be guided by the interest of the viewer.

Whether it is pay TV or free-to-air, whether it is local media houses or foreign ones, every effort must be made to see to it that the good of the viewer in paramount.

The criteria for allocating of frequencies must be guided not only by justice but also by an honest consciousness of the times we are living in.

Father Wamugunda is Dean of Students, University of Nairobi; [email protected]