Rwanda, Kenya Move Towards Digital Migration

Authorities in Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda have banned the sale and importation of DVB-T boxes, as they take steps towards the 2015 digital migration deadline.

Broadcasting regulators in the three countries have already announced the adoption of DVB-T2 as the prescribed standard for use in the provision of Digital Terrestrial Television, DTT, broadcasting services, as they march towards 2015, when broadcasting on the digital platform will replace analogue one.

On account of this, the importation and sale of DVB-T decoders have been prohibited in these countries and prospective subscribers have been cautioned against their purchase.

By 2015, DVB-T decoders will no longer be capable of receiving television signals since the DTT infrastructure that will be set up can only support DVB T2 and not DVB T.

The new DTT infrastructure, when launched, will have the capacity to free up spectrum for other communication activities like telephony and data as well as boost picture and audio quality. It will also offer additional bandwidth, which allows television companies to create more channels and make broadcast technology more available and cheaper because of the competition it will engender.