Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has invited members of the public to provide their input on three key legal amendments proposed in an effort to grow the ICT sector in Kenya.

CA is proposing to change the technology neutral Unified Licensing Framework (ULF) for the telecommunications market structure, which has been in operation for the past 10 years.

The Authority intimates that the proposed amendments seek to address and remove a variety of market entry and operational barriers that have been witnessed in that period.

The proposed amendments aim to provide more clarity on the outlined scope of the varied licences and come up with new licensing areas based on the existing ICT Sector Policy.

“The stakeholder views are expected to enrich the review process in line with the Constitutional requirement of public participation in public policy making,” stated CA.

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Members of the public and the various stakeholders in the ICT sector in Kenya have been given until January 23, 2025, to submit their comments for consideration in the changes.

CA is also seeking the input of stakeholders on proposed revised minimum technical provisions for the second-generation Terrestrial Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB-T2) receivers.

Kenya adopted the DVB-T2 standard for terrestrial digital television broadcasting in preparation for the digital migration that was implemented by the government in 2015.

This was based on the global deadline for analogue switch-off and saw CA issue minimum technical needs for DVB-T2 Digital Set-top Boxes and for Integrated Digital Television (iDTV).

‘‘The proposed update will ensure that only those digital receivers that comply with the current technical standards will be approved for use in Kenya,’’ CA said in a notice.

It added: “The DVB-T2 technical specifications and requirements are being reviewed in order to incorporate the technical enhancements that have since been introduced in terrestrial digital television broadcasting space.”

CA expects the upgraded specifications to enable TV viewers to enjoy new features made possible by the technological advancements adopted on digital terrestrial platforms.

All stakeholders have until January 15, 2025 to submit their input to the authority.

CA added that it had developed license templates for the Digital Sound Broadcasting (DSB) services ahead of the adoption of the DSB licensing framework in the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

The authority is seeking stakeholder input on the 10 proposed license categories under the DSB framework with the deadline for the submission of input slated for January 17, 2025.