DStv Uganda to Power App with new Airtel Streaming Bundles

Airtel Uganda customers can now stream high-definition content on their DStv App with the launch of new bundles designed specifically for content streaming.

Features on the DStv App expected to come alive with these bundles are Live-streaming of sports events, DSTV Catch-Up, and general sports content.

The bundles are different from the usual bundles for surfing or chatting, and will according to Airtel, allow users to stream the content from wherever they are.

Uganda has eight Pay Tv service provider including DStv, Zuku, Azam, Star Times, Kwese and GOtv among others who are battling for the more than 1.5m subscribers in the country.

MULTICHOICE DRAWS FIRST BLOOD AS SAFARICOM SUFFERS COPYRIGHT SETBACK

 Safaricom this week suffered rare defeat in the Court of Appeal after its bid to post-pone a High Court ruling ordering it to disable access to over 100 piracy websites was declined.

In one week’s time, the giant telco responsible for carrying much of the country’s internet traffic, along with rival Jamii Telecom, will learn their fate in a case filed by subscription sports broadcaster, Multichoice Kenya seeking to enforce compliance with Section 35D of the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2019.

The Section introduced a Notice and Takedowns (NTDs)regime in the country’s laws where holders of copyright to digital content can issue a demand for infringers such as illegal streaming sites to take the content down.

Jurisdictions with NTDs like the U.S. have also gone ahead to find that Internet Service Providers are also liable for providing access to such illegal content and should take it down once served with the notice. Failure to do so results in loss of the limited liability protection they enjoy under Safe Harbour Rules.

“An ISP which fails to take down or disable access when it receives a takedown notice shall be fully liable for any loss or damages resulting from non-compliance to a takedown notice without a valid justification,” Section 35D of the Copyright Act reads.

Multichoice which holds rights over premium sports content such as English Premier League Football, Formula 1 racing among others, had issued takedown notices to Safaricom and JTL last year but the two did not heed to them.

Multichoice then filed suit in the High Court where Justice Wilfrida Okwany  granted Orders for the two telcos to disable their users’ access to 141 websites said to be infringing copyright.

Safaricom and JTL appealed and asked the Court of Appeal to waive the takedown order until the full hearing and determination of the case. This is the request that the Appeals court rejected.

If the lower court’s order is upheld, it could have far reaching consequences for the online space in Kenya.

It will also give added muscle to rejuvenated Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) to flex its mandate more broadly.

The bruising fight for Safaricom is but one of the challenges it faces even as it resumed rollout of its fiber-to-home network this month. The telco is also facing an ultimatum from tech giant Facebook to comply with certain requirements. The social media company brought data to Safaricom engineers showing gaps in its network service across the country with some places lacking network completely while others could only access 2G services.

Other likely targets for takedowns if the Multichoice case is upheld will be bloggers and other social media guns for hire.

Victims of salacious gossip and infringement of privacy might now be able to invoke takedown orders to issue against telcos or ISPs disabling access to content seen to bear defamatory meaning.

ORANGE KENYA TO REBRAND TO TELKOM TOMORROW UNVEIL 4G

Orange, the third mobile operator in the country will change its brand name to simply Telkom tomorrow.

Previously known as Telkom Kenya and Telkom Orange, the formerly state owned landline operator will revert to the name Telkom after Private Equity Group Helios Partners bought the majority stake from France Telecom, the owners of Orange.

Helios made fame locally when they bought a 25% stake into then grassroots lender Equity Bank for Sh11billion in 2007, a stake it later sold for over Sh44billion exiting completely by August 2015.

In June 2016 it bought out the entire Orange stake in Telkom Kenya through its wholly owned subsidiary Jamhuri Holdings. The deal eventually saw it settle for 60% of the firm with the Government of Kenya retaining a 40% stake.

The new owners are said to have been working to put the right team in place and to fine tune strategy.

The telco is said to have quite a good network that has been underutilised and indications are that investments in a 4G have been made.

SAFARICOM MPESA CARD TO LAUNCH BEGINS WITH NAKURU

Safaricom is set to roll out 500,000 point of sale payment points in the country as it launches its tap and pay MPESA card in the country.

The innovation to be first launched in Nakuru will allow customers to merely tap, enter pin and pay at points of sale in shops, restaurants, supermarkets, petrol stations, bars and so on.

Banks that have been slow to issue card swiping machines to businesses will likely have to change strategy as Safaricom moves to tighten its grip on the payments industry especially with small merchants.

With Equity Bank and KCB refusing to play ball with Pesalink, the Kenya banking industry's payment switch, the technology has seen slow uptake giving Safaricom time to innovate and move to neutralize the threat.

The new payment option will use Near Field Communication to link the customer to the merchant's till.

The Lipa na MPESA service where the customer pays to a business using MPESA has been among the fastest growing segments of the payment service recording a 73 per cent rise in the six months to November 30, 2016.

SAFARICOM SERVERS CRASH DISRUPTS CALLS, MPESA OPERATIONS

Dominant telco, Safaricom, has caused major disruptions in communication in the country after experiencing problems in its Network Subsystem.

This is the system responsible for establishing calls and routing them within and to other networks.

The problem appeared to be with its Mobile Switching Center servers (MSC-S) a group of interconnected switching nodes that manage connections between subscribers or the interface through which calls are routed within the network using what is called the BICC protocol.

This would be what is called the Nc-interface where calls are transported within the core network and the widespread nature of the problem suggested that this is where the problem may lie.

So, while the radio network system is sending the requests for connection, and they are being received, the establishment of the required connections is not taking place as it should. It is not clear if this is due to a physical fault like a broken cable, or a software malfunction particularly in the case of any software updates.

Safaricom's Core Network Support Engineers are working to resolve the problem which has come at an inopportune time as political parties nominations continue across the country and constant need for communication with party headquarters to resolve crises is paramount.

KPLC MD CHUMO EXITS

Monopoly Power distributor Kenya Power has announced the exit of its CEO Dr. Ben Chumo with effect from Friday, 6th January.

Dr. Ken Tarus, the Finance Manager, will take over in acting capacity as MD and CEO.

Chumo has been at the helm of the utility since 2013 when he was appointed in acting capacity to replace Joseph Njoroge after the latter was appointed PS Energy.

Chumo was previously the Chief Manager, Human Resources.

Upon his confirmation several months later, he embarked on restructuring the organization which saw the retirement of several senior managers along with the exit of others who were did not fit with the new thinking.

Chumo has overseen the first phase of the last mile connectivity project as well as the signing of several PPAs with power producers.

IS MTN TAKING A LOOK AT AIRTEL KENYA

Unconfirmed reports indicate that mobile operator MTN of South Africa is considering making a bid for Airtel Kenya operations as the struggling carrier continues to bleed cash.

It is not clear at what stage those talks, if at all, are but the corporate grapevine suggests that this may be more than a passing interest for the giant telecom with a footprint across the continent.

If valid, this would provide leading telco Safaricom with its first serious challenge from a company with experience in doing business on the continent.

The Kenyan market is not altogether new terrain for MTN. The company already operates in the country as MTN Business after taking over the operations of corporate Internet Service Provider, Uunet Kenya a few years back.

And with margins from Voice revenue shrinking, the battle for the next decade is likely to shift to Data services and Mobile Financial Services. MTN already operates on both fronts.

Concurrently, the industry regulator, Communications Authority of Kenya, is awaiting the findings of a study it has commissioned on Market Dominance out of which far reaching policy changes affecting the competitive landscape could be made.

Also, third operator Orange, recently taken over by private equity firm Helios Partners, is expected to make a resurgent push for market share in Q1 2017.

After assessing its network and realizing that Orange had made significant investments into a first class network, Helios has gone about getting the right people to run the company quietly staffing it with experienced managers.

Reports indicate it could overtake Airtel into second place in market share after its initial push.]

An independent report by Safaricom for instance, showed that Orange is gaining the largest share of the teen market something it could work hard to convert into long time subscribers.

Either way, the market is about to witness interesting developments.