the operative words are

“The PPP is going on well, and we expect to roll out the 4G network in some areas soon,” said Mr Bitange.

 I suppose the key to breaking the impasse is
(a) to actualise the critical parts of the PPP (what are the details? has a critical mass of buy-in by stakeholders been achieved?) such as reliable, affordably priced shared infrastructure (e.g. site sharing) and services (e.g. signal distribution),

(b) for CCK to decide on the standard for TV set-top boxes and allow analog TV service consumers a reasonable period to purchase STBs or digital TVs and

(c) for CCK to agree that irrespective of mode of allocation of frequency spectrum for LTE, it is beneficial for the entire economy to exploit the market potential at the earliest opportunity.

Let us suppose that the potential market in Nairobi is 70% of the national addressable market (revenue-wise); the actual figures can be inferred from MNO subscriber and service usage statistics for 2G and 3G services. Since Nairobi is in the simulcast period, it is possible to establish if the digital TV transmission tests have been successful this far. To me, it follows that it is not economic-wise justified to wait another 3 years for digital TV signal to be available countrywide before TV broadcasters surrender the frequency spectrum that is currently assigned to analog TV broadcasting.

Since the Digital TV Migration & LTE rollout are mutually dependent, I suggest it would be better for all stakeholders if CCK phased the two projects' implementation by issuing say, 3 regional/zone licences and the corresponding resources in a manner such as:

a) priority 1- greater Nairobi, greater Mombasa, and Lamu archipelago by say, October 2013
b) priority 2- urban areas of: Kisumu, Eldoret, Nakuru, Kakamega, Nyeri, Embu, Meru, Garissa by say, April 2014
c) priority 3- rest of Kenya by say, January 2015.

Regards,

Eng. K. Gicohi

On 16 March 2012 19:24, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com> wrote:

The focus on the 700 Mhz is because of standardization accross various regions, especially Africa,  Europe  and Mid East.  This leads to more affordable equipment for all.  Choosing your own "white space" will see you ordering customised equipment which comes at a high cost.

Brazil does some manufacturing and may decide to choose its own path.


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--
Thank you.
BR,

Eng. K. Gicohi