Much as I am for technological advancement and progress, I am with Kivuva on this. Why not close the tap as opposed to stuffing the faucet with expensive designer rags to stop the flow of analogue equipment/demand for such? Is it impossible to ban import of analogue TV sets or pervasive consumer education on not buying any TV sets that are not accompanied by a set-top box? 
I am sure studies can be done to determine a ball park figure of the no. of TVs in the country and thus able to source a similar no. of settop boxes from a chinese manufacturer. A subsidized settop box should go for an affordable price and we will have killed several birds with one stone. 
Expecting the private sector to solve a social problem is rather reckless on the governments part no? 
We rarely finish what we start. There was a plan to assemble the settop boxes locally. That evidently didn't fly. 
We also cant ignore that its election season and any move by the government will be inspected through political eyepieces. How will switching off the TV signal of a large swath of the population be interpreted?


On Wed, Dec 12, 2012 at 11:47 AM, Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote:
Digital broadcast is great, no doubt about that, and the benefits are
boundless. But let us not be elitist in the way we conduct the
exercise.

You can free the airwaves, and create thousands of digital channels
and jobs, but if I in Kibera and Mathare, I cannot afford to buy a
setbox in the next year, I will be forced to use by TVbox as a stool.

Let those with money migrate, and let the poor enjoy the poor quality
analog signal in peace until set boxes are dirt cheap.

On the other hand, to reach a consensus, give us cheap subsidized
digital set boxes, say at 500bob, marked GoK, and give us adequate
time to buy them.

Remember, 2000bob is my dinner for a month.

You switched off my phone, which I bought with hard earned cash, then
you switch of my TV! Next you will switch of my radio, then ...

On 12/12/2012, bitange@jambo.co.ke <bitange@jambo.co.ke> wrote:
> Listers,
> Consumer Federation of Kenya (COFEK) has gone to court to stop the planned
> Digital Switchover in Nairobi at the end of this month.  This is most
> unfortunate considering the fact that the current analogue broadcast has
> been the most discriminating.  Majority of Kenyans have not seen the level
> of communication that Digital offers (this is what the constitution
> demands).  In the new platform we have seen more vernacular channels
> delivering news in a language that people understand and relate to.  It
> therefore surprises me when an organization such as COFEK moves to court
> to protect an elitist broadcast platform.
>
> Further every one new channel creates more than thirty new jobs.  There
> are more than one hundred and fifty new applications awaiting clearance to
> start digital broadcast.  Twenty of these are already on air.  If we get
> two hundred new broadcasters, we shall have achieved our quest for having
> a pluralistic and diversified broadcast environment.  In whose interest is
> COFEK advancing the agenda of maintaining monopolistic practices in Kenyan
> Media? Does COFEK really understands the seriousness of unemployment in
> Kenya?
>
> The cost of not migrating is far too great than biting the bullet now and
> enable frequency spectrum to be used in more productive and inclusive
> manner.  The benefits of mobile operators moving from 2G to 3G are
> glaring.  We need to scale up to 4G and create a robust last mile that
> will reduce the rural urban digital divide; that will create an enabling
> playing field when we start delivering new local content to schools
> country-wide.
>
> Most of the world has migrated and they fully understand why we need to
> free up spectrum. EAC member states agreed on the December 31st deadline
> and Tanzania for example has committed itself to this agreed deadline
> despite not having a completed the national roll-out of the digital
> signal. In Kenya we have adopted a phased plan starting from Nairobi.
> Technology changes every six months and Kenya must remain at the
> technological edge in order to remain the true hub of Africa.  We seem to
> be exercising freedom without any responsibility.
>
> Ndemo.
>
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> This is where we are going wrong, the digital migration has nothing to do
>> with digital TV sets its about how the signal will be transmitted, please
>> try and see the bigger picture here.
>>
>>
>> When we moved from analogue internet connectivity where you needed a
>> modem
>> to the digital transmission where you needed a DTU/ADSL/Dongle why didn't
>> you please with the government to stop the importation of Pentium
>> processor based computers or 14" monitors or AT keyboards so that users
>> could transition?  If you remember the ISPs never even gave us a
>> transition period and some never even implemented analogue connectivity.
>>
>>
>> This is the same case with the digital TV migration, you do not need a
>> digital TV to benefit from the new method of transmission all that you
>> are
>> changing is the equivalent of your analogue modem with a digital receiver
>> and nothing more, also remember that this transition is a world wide
>> project and it would be foolhardy to try and stop the oncoming train.
>>
>>
>> As Kenyans, we have proven time and time again that we are resilient and
>> innovative, we turned off "fake" phones and on the following day they
>> where getting reactivated thanks to the power of google, turn off the
>> analogue signal tomorrow and we shall have 500/- decoders available for
>> sale along the streets of Nairobi, keep postponing the switchoff and
>> there
>> will be no meaning uptake of the digital devices, have you registered for
>> election yet?
>>
>>
>> All this noise from the entrenched media houses that we are propagating
>> has nothing to do with if Kenyans with black and white TVs can afford to
>> buy the decoder but more on trying to delay the shift of broadcasting
>> power to a more open platform, so before you come to the defense of Linus
>> and his ilk find out whose agenda you are promoting, instead of coming
>> forward and responding to the discussion going on here of which I am sure
>> they are listening, they send mercenaries .
>>
>> Dr. Ndemo, I again say kudos and tell you keep the course and do what is
>> right for the Nation and avoid being distracted by those with selfish
>> agendas, deliver on this and Konza has a better chance of seeing the
>> light
>> of day.
>>
>> Regards
>>
>>
>> Robert Yawe
>> KAY System Technologies Ltd
>> Phoenix House, 6th Floor
>> P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200
>> Kenya
>>
>>
>> Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696
>>
>>
>> ________________________________
>>  From: meshack emakunat <memakunat@yahoo.com>
>> To: robertyawe@yahoo.co.uk
>> Cc: Meshack <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>
>> Sent: Wednesday, 5 December 2012, 16:48
>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Digital migration and mass ignorance
>>
>>
>> Dear list
>> I read this thread and all i see is the "the cart before the horse". I
>> believe Mr gitahi was referring to affordability rather compatibility and
>> adaptability. @Robert, don't you think Kenyans should be given enough
>> time
>> to migrate rather than have a paradigm shift in tech use. I think that we
>> should ban the importation of analog TV as somebody suggested earlier
>> then
>> will have a gradual change till 2015
>> Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android
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