UBC spins off
Signet for
Uganda's DTT
distribution
| 18
December 2014
Uganda Broadcasting
Corporation (UBC) has
launched an affiliated body,
Signet, to spearhead
distribution of digital
terrestrial television (DTT)
signals across the country.
UBC board approval of
Signet's formation came in
November after protests from
media operators against
signal distribution staying
solely in the hands of the
national broadcaster.
Headed by Eng. Sam Batanda,
Signet will be based in the
Kampala suburb of Bugolobi.
Uganda still has a long way to
go to meet the ITU's global
deadline for digital migration
in June 2015. Frequency
coordination has now been
conducted with neighbours
Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, DRC
and South Sudan, according
to reports, and one digital
terrestrial transmission site
has been set up and
switched on at Kololo
covering Kampala and the
surrounding area.
By April 2015, 17 other DTT
transmission sites will be set
up by the government to
cover the whole of Uganda,
says Signet, though many
remain skeptical that this
deadline can be met.
MultiChoice Uganda, which
claims to have invested over
US$20million to set up 13
transmission sites across the
country, has renewed calls on
the government to open up
DTT signal distribution in
Uganda to the private sector.
Source: Rapid Tv News