DStv Adds YouTube to Explora Ultra Set-top box

 

 

DStv continued to rack up new third-party ups for subscribers to stream on its new Explore Ultra set-top box with the addition of YouTube.

Explora Ultra when connected to the internet allows the subscriber to stream content from their decoder which comes with in-built Wi-Fi.

YouTube joins a number of streaming services and apps available on the Explora Ultra, including Showmax, Box Office, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Joox.

The Entertainment giant has been on a two-pronged strategy to solidy its leadership of viewers on the continent by signing multiple deals with Over-The-Top content providers to have their content on the DStv platform.

It is also aggressively going after copyright infringement for its broadcast and content rights including Internet Service Providers and streaming sites.

DStv is seeking to leverage its experience in negotiating global TV sports broadcast rights to bring on board other content generators who will no doubt be impressed by its willingness to protect IP rights.

 

 

UPDATE: LAUNCH OF THE ARDHISASA SYSTEM AND THE AUTOMATION OF LAND TRANSACTIONS IN NAIROBI

The Ministry of Lands has launched the Ardhisasa system for land transactions in Nairobi.

In essence it represented the culmination of two concurrent activities:

i.                Digitalizing of land records

ii.               Conversion of land titles to conform with the Constitution and the Land Registration Act, 2012

The first is to allow land transactions to be automated and to eliminate the need for manual handling of the same.

Automated interactions with the system will include conduct of searches, transfers, consents, charges and discharges and so on.

The second is to create sequential land reference numbers for titles. This is because existing titles had been issued under different statutes or land regimes. Upon consolidation and repeal of many of those Acts, and the enactment of the Land Act, and the Land Registration Act, it became necessary to convert those titles, a process that is now ongoing.

Nairobi has two land registries. The Nairobi Registry, and the Central Registry.

The Nairobi Registry has been fully digitalized, and what remains is data cleanup so that the new title numbers correspond with the cadastral maps developed by Survey of Kenya.

The full list of the Nairobi registry titles with the new LRNs will be Gazetted by end of next week.

The Central Registry digitalization of records is ongoing and is expected to be done by end of this month/early next month, after which it will also be Gazetted.

Land owners/customers will have 90-days to verify their details including the LRN, and the acreage of their properties and register any complaints.

Registering in the system

Land owners will be required to register on the system where they will be issued with a one-time password (OTP).

DStv donates 10,000 KN95 Protection Masks to MoH

Multichoice Kenya, the proprietor of the DStv and GOTV brands, yesterday gave to the Ministry of Health, 10,000 KN95 PPE masks as well as isolation gowns to aid in the fight against the spread of the Covid pandemic.
The masks worth about Sh2.3million are to be mainly used by frontline health workers who have repeatedly raised concern about the lack of adequate personal protective equipment for them as they attend to Covid patients.
The KN95 masks are a type of filtering facepiece respirator that meets the requirements of the US National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to provide the expected level of protection as long as it is worn and fit properly.
Multichoice CEO Nancy Matimu said the company would continue to support the MoH in the fight against Covid.
"At MultiChoice Kenya, we recognize that co-operation and solidarity is important from each one of us at individual and collective levels alike. We therefore come here today, to commit our solemn support towards the COVID-19 pandemic fight in Kenya,” said Matimu."

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.