Liquid Telecom loses Bid for Kenya Under-Sea Cable License

Tier-1 telco, Liquid (formerly KDN), has lost a bid to acquire a submarine cable landing license after the Communications Tribunal threw out its appeal against an earlier decision by the Communications Authority to deny it the license.

Liquid, part of a pan-African group, had applied for the SLCC license to terminate a cable originating from Pakistan and co-owned by a subsidiary of Chinese Huawei group.

The Communications and Media Appeals Tribunal, in denying its appeal, found that Liquid filed the appeal months later than the law required and that the same seemed to be an afterthought.

The Tribunal chair Rosemary Wacera Kuria, found that Liquid did not provide sufficient reasons for not filing the appeal on time and that it had initiated other license applications before it decided to file the appeal.

Kenya has three SCLL holders: Seacom, TEAMS and EASSY. Mr. Stephen Kiptinness, representing Liquid, was unable to convince the tribunal that the company would suffer any commercial loss nor that the matter would result in injustice.

Faith Wamuyu, counsel for the Authority, had argued that Liquid, by delaying to file its appeal, was misusing the court process.

Multichoice Talent Factory Recruiting Trainees Filmmakers

Multichoice has announced that it is recruiting film and TV trainees from east, west and southern Africa, for its Multichoice Talent Factory training programme.

The Film and TV training programme which was launched in 2018, has so far trained 120 students transforming them into skilled industry professionals.

The applications for the 2022 class will close on 30th June, 2021.

"The call is open to all emerging filmmakers with either some industry experience or a relevant post-school qualification in film to apply for this exciting opportunity to hone their television and film production skills," Multichoice said in a statement.

MTF has four academies in Africa: Kenya, Nigeria, Zambia and South Africa. 

Like previous years, all 60 students alongside select members of the public will get to participate in the MTF Masterclasses, which are powered by various industry partners including Dolby, CBS Justice and Jasco Broadcast Solutions offering AVID software masterclasses to name a few.

 

The illustrious New York Film Academy of Visual and Performing Arts (NYFA) continues its commitment as an MTF Masterclasses partner and to award its annual 8 weeks NYFA Scholarship at the Academy in New York to the top performing student from each region.

MULTICHOICE EXPANDS SERVICE OUTLETS TO ONGATA RONGAI

Multichoice Kenya has today officially opened its doors to a new branch located in Ongata Rongai. The Rongai branch will serve both DStv and GOtv customers and is located on the First Floor of Rongai Business Centre along Magadi road. The opening of the branch is a strategic move to ensure customers can easily access service points across the county.

Alvin Kimani, CEC Trade, Investments and Cooperatives Kajiado County while officially launching the new branch on behalf of H.E Joseph Ole Lenku, Governor of Kajiado County said, “The opening of this Rongai branch will greatly the residents of Rongai and adjacent areas of Nkoroi, Matasia, Kware and Kandisi as the residents will no longer need to travel long distances to access after-sale support. This branch will also make a significant contribution by increasing the number of businesses in this area through offering opportunities to direct sales agents, installers and electronic service partners who will indirectly support the operations of this branch. We are grateful to MultiChoice Kenya for bringing services closer to the people of Rongai and we look forward to enjoying the programming on your platforms.”

Nancy Matimu, MultiChoice Kenya Managing Director said, “The launch of the Rongai branch is in line with our mission of enriching lives by making entertainment more accessible. Nairobi is rapidly expanding, and we want to grow with our customers. This branch is therefore a strategic move to ensure that our customers can enjoy hustle free viewing and easily access after-sale services conveniently and with the least hustle.”

Little Cab launches Doctor's Booking Services

Little, the cab hailing service, has said it has partnered with over 200 medical specialists to offer patient booking services on Little App. This new feature seeks to ease the queues experienced at doctor’s clinics when patients go for their appointments.

The Little “Book-A-Doctor” feature not only offers customers an array of specialists to choose from, but also an option of pre-booking their rides to their appointments. 

The feature, which is currently in the pilot phase, hopes to see 500 more specialists on boarded by end of 2021. 

Plans are already underway to include home-based COVID-19 care services and at- home lab tests. 

While sharing details on how the new appointment booking service will work, Little CEO Kamal Budhabhatti, underscored the importance of the product during this COVID-19 period. 

"Based on our consumer research, average waiting time at a doctor’s clinic can be up to 40 minutes. We intend to reduce this waiting time through the streamlined booking system we have developed."

DStv customers to add movie channels to their packages

MultiChoice has announced that from June 2021, DStv customers will be able to amp up their entertainment by adding movie channels onto their current packages at a fraction of the cost.

During the 2021 MultiChoice Kenya Content Showcase Managing Director Nancy Matimu said, “We continue to look for ways to create more choice and value for our customers and improve the viewing experience

DStv customers on Compact Plus, Compact, Family and Access will be able to add M-Net Movies 1, Movies 2 or Movies 3 to access premium movies for a fraction of the cost of the package. The movies add-on service will give customers access to the latest international feel-good Animania festival movies for the entire family on M-Net Movies 1 (DStv 104).

DStv to Showcase 51 matches en route to EURO 2021 Final in Wembley

The road to Wembley stadium for the Euro 2021 soccer tournament will involve 51 matches across 12 European cities, sports broadcaster, Supersport has said, as it announced it will air all 51 to subscribers.

This will be in addition to the yet to be confirmed Olympics 2021 which are to be hosted in Tokyo, Japan.

Euro 2021 action kicks off in Rome on 11th June with Turkey taking on the Azzuri (Italy).

The following evening, Supersport will air three matches where Switzerland will host Wales, Denmark will visit Finland, and Belgium will visit Russia in the late game.

The rest of the fixtures will be:

Sunday June 13

Group D: England vs Croatia; Kick-off 2pm (London)

Group C: Austria vs North Macedonia; Kick-off 5pm (Bucharest)

Group C: Netherlands vs Ukraine; Kick-off 8pm (Amsterdam)

Monday June 14

Group D: Scotland vs Czech Republic; Kick-off 2pm (Glasgow)

Group E: Poland vs Slovakia; Kick-off 5pm (Dublin)

Group E: Spain vs Sweden; Kick-off 8pm (Bilbao)

Tuesday June 15

Group F: Hungary vs Portugal; Kick-off 5pm (Budapest)

Group F: France vs Germany; Kick-off 8pm (Munich)

Wednesday June 16

Group B: Finland vs Russia: Kick-off 2pm (St Petersburg)

Group A: Turkey vs Wales: Kick-off 5pm (Baku)

Group A: Italy vs Switzerland; Kick-off 8pm (Rome)

Thursday June 17

Group C: Ukraine vs North Macedonia; Kick-off 2pm (Bucharest)

Group B: Denmark vs Belgium; Kick-off 5pm (Copenhagen)

Group C: Netherlands vs Austria; Kick-off 8pm (Amsterdam)

Friday June 18

Group E: Sweden vs Slovakia; Kick-off 2pm (Dublin)

Group D: Croatia vs Czech Republic; Kick-off 5pm (Glasgow)

Group D: England vs Scotland; Kick-off 8pm (London)

Saturday June 19

Group F: Hungary vs France; Kick-off 2pm (Budapest)

Group F: Portugal vs Germany; Kick-off 5pm (Munich)

Group E: Spain vs Poland; Kick-off 8pm (Bilbao)

Sunday June 20

Group A: Italy vs Wales; Kick-off 5pm (Rome)

Group A: Switzerland vs Turkey; Kick-off 5pm (Baku)

Monday June 21

Group C: North Macedonia vs Netherlands; Kick-off 5pm (Amsterdam)

Group C: Ukraine vs Austria; Kick-off 5pm (Bucharest)

Group B: Russia vs Denmark; Kick-off 8pm (Copenhagen)

Group B: Finland vs Belgium; Kick-off 8pm (St Petersburg)

Tuesday June 22

Group D: Czech Republic vs England; Kick-off 8pm (London)

Group D: Croatia vs Scotland; Kick-off 8pm (Glasgow)

Wednesday June 23

Group E: Slovakia vs Spain; Kick-off 5pm (Bilbao)

Group E: Sweden vs Poland; Kick-off 5pm (Dublin)

Group F: Germany vs Hungary; Kick-off 8pm (Munich)

Group F: Portugal vs France; Kick-off 8pm (Budapest)

Top two in each group plus four best third-placed teams go through

Multichoice to Debut 3 Documentaries on Kenyan Athletic Champiions

 

Multichoice has announced the release a three-part documentary series featuring world-famous Kenyan athletes as part of its content showcase for the coming season.

According to the company's announcement during its ongoing Content Showcase, "The documentary dubbed ‘Rising Champions’ is a 3-part series gripping feature focusing on the success, the secret and the science behind a long line of strong athletes from the region"

First will be, "Rising Champions:  The Success of East African Athletes" which will be about the rise of East African Athletes and their dominance in long distance running over the last 60 years.

Next will be Rising Champions:  The Secret Behind East African Athletes which looks at the cultural, geographical influences and training methods that have made East African Athletes conquer the world of long-distance running and finally,  Rising Champions:  The Science Behind East Africa Athletes explores the genetics, diet and environmental factors that have contributed to the global success of East African Athletes in long distance running.

Among the greats who will be featured include world 800-metre record holder, David Rudisha, champions Paul Tergat, Catherine Ndereba, Julius Yego, Hellen Obiri amongst others.

The documentaries are available to watch on DStv Catch up on the DStv Explora and DStvApp.