Hussein, In less than 10 years, there will be no Signet or Pang. Already much of the digital content from the two is carried over fibre (NOFBI). There is no business case for a separate infrastructure when we have multiple infrastructure around MNOs. We shall not need set top boxes beyond next year. Much of the content will be on mobile and internet. All you need is your lap top and projector for most of the content. We should not invest in where there is no business case. The opportunities lie in content development, distribution, and aggregation. Self provisioning license (what media wants) is usually given to large content aggregators (in South Africa they gave to DSTV because it can sustain a business case). If for some reason CCK issues a license to non content aggregators, you will end up in a fix with new broadcasters failing to enter the market. The resource (spectrum) in a case where there is no aggregation will not be optimally used. In the worst case scenario, the payback period for the new investment may be infinity. The policy however is to encourage infrastructure sharing especially in this era of rapid technological changes. Remember we moved from DVBT to DVBT2 with a year even before people realized that we are moving to digital. The digital reality has not sunk in yet. As we move, the broadcast standards are changing and soon media houses have to move their cameras from Standard Definition SD to High Definition HD to Blu - Ray Disc. They can choose not to move but most of the content already is in HD. If I were a broadcaster, I would rather invest in content that the viewers will want in the next few years. It is like trying to invest in a record player when everybody who matters has a CD player. Let us try see a head and identify opportunities that can take us far. Ndemo.
ICT Researcher
We don't leave in a utopian world..He who pays the piper calls the tune.
At the risk of belaboring the point it is a competitive issue that has to be addressed. In fact we are already seeing trends of content providers and infrastructure owners morphing into one:-
1. Google is busy laying fibre/buying fibre across the world 2. Facebook is doing the same 3. Zuku is a triple play player - owning the infrastructure and at the same time involved heavily in content creation and distribution 4. Safaricom is moving the same way. 5. Infact all