Digital migration was adopted by the Ugandan government by virtue of its being a signatory to the Geneva 2006 Agreement which resolved that all countries signatory to the agreement were supposed to migrate from Analog to Digital broadcasting by June 2015. The Ugandan government, under the ministry of Information and Communication Technology set a deadline of December 2012 to have Digital migration implemented. With the broadcasting media growing rapidly, this can be seen as a positive step towards improving quality and streamlining the sector since it offers high quality Video and audio among other benefits. However, this might not come easily as one might think due to the fact that there are structural requirements and clear policies that need to be developed and implemented for the smooth operation of Digital broadcasting.
During a stake holders meeting some time this year, players in the broadcast media complained over the decision by the cabinet to choose UBC as the sole signal provider with many saying it is not competent and prepared enough for the task ahead. A statement from Mr. Godfrey Mutabazi, the Uganda Communications Commission Managing Director was also in line with the fears expressed by the players. While appearing in parliament, Mr Mutabazi said that despite the fact that UBC was chosen as the sole signal provider, it does not have the money to fund the migration process. This also comes at a time when the economy is facing serious challenges that have caused cut backs in certain expenditures just afew months after the National Budget was passed. With all the above challenges, it still remains to be seen whether the December 2012 deadline set by the government of Uganda to implement Digital broadcasting will be achieved.
During a stake holders meeting some time this year, players in the broadcast media complained over the decision by the cabinet to choose UBC as the sole signal provider with many saying it is not competent and prepared enough for the task ahead. A statement from Mr. Godfrey Mutabazi, the Uganda Communications Commission Managing Director was also in line with the fears expressed by the players. While appearing in parliament, Mr Mutabazi said that despite the fact that UBC was chosen as the sole signal provider, it does not have the money to fund the migration process. This also comes at a time when the economy is facing serious challenges that have caused cut backs in certain expenditures just afew months after the National Budget was passed. With all the above challenges, it still remains to be seen whether the December 2012 deadline set by the government of Uganda to implement Digital broadcasting will be achieved.
