Communications Authority Puts 60 Stations On Notice

Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has put 60 FM stations on notice. In a statement posted on Twitter, the Authority announced the revocation of FM broadcasting frequencies, cancellation of license offers and the rejection of license applications.

“Take notice that the Authority has commenced regulatory actions against the following listed broadcasters and applicants of broadcasting service provisioning licences for failure to comply with the relevant requirements as provided for in the Act,” stated the Director-General, Ezra Chiloba.

This move is supported by Section 46C and the Fifth Schedule of the Kenya Information and Communications Act, 1998 that declares it illegal to provide any form of broadcasting service in Kenya without a license issued by the Communications Authority. “Contravention of this requirement attracts a fine not exceeding Ksh1,000,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both,” it warned.

CA has a host of duties as a regulator who facilitate the development of the information and communications sectors including broadcasting, cybersecurity, multimedia, telecommunications, electronic commerce, postal and courier services.

The most surprising names include Capital FM and NRG Radio.

Below is the breakdown of who, why and what.

The Authority has initiated the rejection of licence applications for commercial and community radio broadcasting services by 24 applicants for failing to comply with related licensing requirements as prescribed by the Authority such as clearing outstanding regulatory fees among others.

The Director-General stated that failure to comply with licensing requirements as notified in writing within 30 days implied the affected party is no longer interested in providing the said services. CA will then proceed to revoke the assigned FM frequencies, shutting down their services.

Below is a breakdown as to how and why these stations have bumped heads with the Authority.

• Revocation of frequency assignments to permit holders who are yet to apply for broadcasting licences

The Authority has initiated the revocation process for FM frequencies assigned to the following listed 4 broadcasters who are holders of expired broadcasting permits and are yet to apply for broadcasting licences as prescribed by the Authority in accordance with the Act.

The stations are Koch, Serian, Rware and Western.

• Revocation of FM frequencies assigned to non-permit holders who are yet to apply for broadcasting licences

The Authority has initiated the revocation process for FM frequencies assigned to the following listed 18 broadcasters who are non-permit holders and are yet to apply for broadcasting licences as prescribed by the Authority in accordance with the Act.

These run the gamut from Chuka and Rongo Universities to Njiwa Media Services.

• Rejection of applications for commercial and community radio broadcasting licences and subsequent revocation of FM frequencies

The Authority has initiated the rejection of licence applications for commercial and community radio broadcasting services by the listed 24 applicants for failing to comply with related licensing requirements as prescribed by the Authority such as clearing outstanding regulatory fees among others.

The rejection of the applications is accompanied by a notice of revocation of the FM frequencies that are assigned to the applicants.

A long list of stations are named here with a host of them curiously belonging to the Catholic Diocese.

• Cancellation of licence offer and revocation of FM frequencies

The Authority has initiated the cancellation of licence offers to the listed 60 applicants for radio broadcasting licences following their failure to comply with the licence offer conditions within the licence offer period as prescribed by the Authority in accordance with the Act.

The cancellation of the licence offer is accompanied by a notice of revocation of the FM broadcasting frequencies assigned to the applicants.

This appears to have affected all 60 stations including superstars such as Capital FM. Mbaitu FM and Qwetu Radio.

• Cancellation of licence offers for commercial free to air television licence

The Authority has cancelled the licence offers for the listed 19 applicants who had applied for Commercial Free-to-Air (FTA) Television broadcasting licences but failed to comply with licence offer conditions within the offer timeline as prescribed by the Authority in accordance with the Act.

These include Kiza TV, Pokot TV and Nairobi TV.

• Cancellation of licence offers for subscription broadcasting service

The Authority has cancelled the licence offers for the listed three applicants who had applied for Subscription Broadcasting Service licences but failed to comply with licence offer conditions within the offer timeline as prescribed by the Authority in accordance with the Act.

These are IP TV and Cable TV.

Application forms are downloadable from the Authority’s website.