Nairobi, (IT News Africa)- THE mobile telephony segment of the ICT industry in Kenya has grown exponentially, exploding from 15,000 handsets a decade ago to 17.6 million and still counting,” the Information Minister, Samuel Poghisio has announced.
This growth marks a service penetration of 47.5 per cent.
Speaking in Nairobi during a three-day ICT Expo to coincide with Communication Commission of Kenya’s (CCK) 10tt anniversary celebrations, Information PS, Bitange Ndemo said rollout of Digital Villages across the country is on course and youths are already being trained on how to manage the centres.
Ndemo however said turnout of trainees has been poor especially in marginalized areas.
The Expo is being held alongside three-day workshop that will discuss the successes achieved so far in the ICT sector and the challenges and opportunities in the sector.
The CCK has so far facilitated 16 schools-based ICT centres and four community tele-centres to enable access to ICT services in unserved areas of the country.
“CCK has co-ordinated the country’s transition to digital TV broadcasting by 2012, designating Kenya Broadcasting Corporation as signal distributor to fast track the migration,” said Poghisio.
CCK Director General, Charles Njoroge said broadcasting stations are expected to start the Analogue to Digital broadcasting migration by September this year as per the new laws currently in place.
“All broadcasters are expected to have migrated by February 2010,” said
Waweru.
The global deadline for the transition stands at June 2015 but Kenya wants
to have fully migrated by 2012.
The Commission has also achieved a milestone by introducing a single license for ICT service providers.
In this regime, a holder of a single license offers many services without need for more licenses.
On the ‘one million laptops’ stimulus package, announced in last month’s National Budget, Ndemo expressed disappointment at what he termed as slow take up of the initiative by the public.
He said university students and common wananchi are legible for the offer which will see them accessing interest free loans to buy laptops.
The Government shall pay the interest on the loans using the stimulus package announced in the last National Budget by Finance Minister, Uhuru Kenyatta.
He urged the public to take advantage of the offer and access laptops at cheaper rates.
Ndemo revealed that the ‘one mobile science laboratories per constituency’ project announced in the last National budget is on course and would be finalized in four months time.
“We are currently going through the normal tendering process and in four months time, the laboratories should be ready for rollout,” said Ndemo.
BRIAN ADERO
