Reacting to Tuesday's call by Safaricom asking TV broadcasters surrender the 700MHz frequency to allow it to deploy 4G services, the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) says it is the only authority mandated to make such a call.
"Only the CCK has the statutory mandate to assign spectrum and to recall frequencies," a statement signed by CCK Acting Director General, Mr Francis Wangusi, read in part.
The 4G services offer a higher Internet speed access than the current platform. It is also the latest mobile broadband technology being deployed worldwide.
As a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Kenya is bound to adhere to the June 2015 date set as the global deadline for the switch-over of TV broadcast from analogue — that uses the 700MHz frequency to digital.
"Therefore the demand for broadcasters to surrender frequencies in the 700 MHz band immediately to mobile operators cannot be justified at this point," Mr Wangusi added.
"In any case, even the 2012 national deadline for migration to the digital TV broadcasting is not cast in stone.
"As has happened in other countries, the deadline could be postponed if there are challenges in achieving it," he said.
The 2012 deadline was recommended in order to give adequate time to address any challenges that may arise before the 2015 deadline.
By NATION REPORTER
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