Bobby, This is a very interesting angle you have introduced. Personally, all I have heard Dr. Ndemo say is that it is "expensive" to run the MW equipment. Of course he stopped short of quantifying the "expensive". Now I believe that he should, while the iron is still hot. It would be nice if Daktari can table the figures on this so as to dispell the negative thoughts, one of which could be that replacing the MW with FM is just another of those plots for some well-connected individuals to get "their cut" of the cake! Keep it up, Bobby! On Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 09:06, robert yawe <robertyawe@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
Dr. Ndemo,
It is good to see that the issues of KBC where always visible to the ministry but mine is to respond to your issue of MW and FM from a technical point as we have kept being reminded that this is more a technology forum.
As a third world country with the ambition of becoming a second world country around the year 2030 we need to be weary of just dumping technology that someone else has advised us to be obsolete, we need to milk what we have until it literally drops dead.
For those who might not be in the know medium wave and short wave was the method used to get VOK to your grandfathers Sanyo radio out there in the middle open spaces of rural Kenya. If you remember that was the radio which would pick national service all the way from Mombasa to Kisumu without needing to change channels.
Today the half baked radio stations you listen to as you travel through the traffic to the congested city are likely to be FM which gets muffled as you near the CBD and disappear immediately you pass the weigh bridge at Mlolongo. You might have realised to the channel for your favourite radio station is different in different towns forcing you to carry a log book if you are to remain tuned in as you travel.
The killing of MW in a developing country is tantamount to development suicide, but since most of us only commute within of radius of 10 kilometres from the CBD we might strongly believe that MW is dead and the solution is FM, lets be careful not to follow the path of Telkom/Orange who at one time contemplated killing CDMA (10 - 50 KM radius per BTS) for GSM (2 KM radius per BTS).
So Dr. Ndemo, before we start scraping off equipment and declaring technology redundant lets carry out an informed analysis before you hastily layoff that MW technician.
Regards
Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya
Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696
----- Original Message ----- From: "bitange@jambo.co.ke" <bitange@jambo.co.ke> To: robertyawe@yahoo.co.uk Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Tuesday, 6 March 2012, 8:57 Subject: Re: [kictanet] Dr. Ndemo & the KBC Staff Strike
Washington, KBC would emerge strong from this crisis. We found KBC with a debt of Ksh. 20 billion. It used be the conduit for corruption through dumping of technology especially the Medium Wave (MW) just as FM was emerging. It cost ten times more running a medium wave station than it is with FM. We are changing this. So far we have six new FM stations replacing the old technology.
We have spilit the organization into theree, that is, infrastructure under Signet, Public Broadcast and Commercial Broabcast. The later two will basically content providers and would worry less on infrastructure that will be supplied by Signet.
The strike was unnecessary since we had commited to implementing their demands. I had personally issued a circular to that effect. Even the Union they had joined advised them that the strike was illegal but unfortunately they defied this. Even more unfortunate they denounced the Union out of anger.
We shall continue with the reforms and improve their welfare. It is not in our interest to see those we work with in the streets. I was shocked to realize that we have thousands of Kenyans seeking for employment. I think some of you may have watched TV the heaps of applications. By yesterday we had in excess of 10,000. I was not misquoted because on Sunday I was at the station and there were more than 1,000 applications. We must do something for our brothers and sisters. Either we start teaching them on areas of wealth creation or find ways of creating massive employment. We are trying in our sector but we have not done enough.
Ndemo.
On Mon, Mar 5, 2012 at 21:06, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com> wrote:
I feel we should sort out our National Broadcaster. It's a pity that other private media stations have taken over KBCs position as we stood by and watched. At the moment, KBC still has good will and can recover.
It also does not make sense for we to push for cutting edge initiatives such as Konza, TEAMS if we are going to let the state at KBC remain as it is. I am sure they can play a major role in local content creation.
Having colleagues in the journalistic filed at KBC, I have heard rumours of situation where the national broadcaster's crew were first at ground breaking events (read disasters) in the country. However, such news is broken by private radio stations where the footage is sold even before it ever gets to KBCs studios. I have even heard more rumours of the broadcasters equipment being used to shoot footage that ends up with private broadcasters.
I am sure the leaked payslips of staff at Standard Media Group < http://thejackalnews.com/media-news/news-media/1688-horror-of-massive-salary... led to most of the staff questioning what it is they did wrong for their colleagues at media school to end up on the better side of luck .
An amicable solution is required. We are all sure that the national broadcaster can make enough revenue to sustain a highly skilled workforce, given the right leadership.
I believe Dr. Ndemo, having seeing his deeds in the ICT sector, can also be the champion credited with overhauling KBC.
@Dennis,
For me, it's a simple question so far:
What is it that KBC doesn't have (and cannot afford) that the private broadcasters do have?
If someone can answer this for me, I'd be very happy because it's "looking at issues from BASIC PRINCIPLES". Maybe it's as hard as having to disband KBC, if that situation cannot be addressed. However, KBC being a National Broadcaster means it's funded by public taxes and that is a very very deep pocket! I am not ready to accept any explanation to the effect that the govt cannot put in place the necessary measures to make KBC a profitable business-case. Rumors have it that Management at KBC are well-connected individuals, not necessarily qualified, and that is typical for the govt, which is not a business and so is not expected to make profits, but KBC must make profits like other Media houses. I don't understand what it is that Citizen does right with its myriad Radio Stations that KBC cannot do, having been the only broadcaster before these FM Stations were born. Oh, most of KBC veterans can be heard at the private Radio Stations, especially Royal Media. Someone must be able to explain why they had to leave KBC for these other places. The reasons are obvious.
Perhaps the govt should just bite the bullet and shut down KBC if they cannot improve it and attract talent and stop acting stupid!
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