A study conducted by the industry regulator indicates close to 1,120 sub-locations out of 7,149 have no access to basic communication services.
Marginalised areas will be able to ride on the government-owned signal distributor Signet and KBC to roll out community radios and televisions to educate and engage the locals in their respective counties and national matters.
Garsen, Lamu and Moyale will be the first beneficiaries of a government fund aimed at rolling out telecom and broadcasting systems in areas considered marginal.
The State started collecting a levy called Universal Service Fund from telecommunication operators and broadcasters last July, but delay in constituting the Universal Service Advisory Council (Usac) has held back rolling out of the services.
Fred Matiang’i, ICT Cabinet Secretary, however Monday said the process to recruit the council members by the Public Service Commission (PSC) as required by the constitution is in progress.
The Usac will be an independent committee comprising representatives from the sector and their appointment will be done by the PSC.
A study conducted by the industry regulator indicates close to 1,120 sub-locations out of 7,149 have no access to basic communication services.
“As a government we have a duty to see that all parts of the country get services. It is for this reason that the government set up the Universal Service Fund which will be used to put telecommunication and broadcasting infrastructure where the private sector have not been able to do so,” Dr Matiang’i said during a media workshop organised by Association of Media Women in Kenya (AMWIK) on opportunities and challenges for marginalised communities in Nairobi Monday.
In broadcasting, Dr Matiang’i said the marginalised areas will be able to ride on the government-owned signal distributor Signet and KBC to roll out community radios and televisions to educate and engage the locals in their respective counties and national matters.
Parliament has already allocated the ministry Sh500 million to roll out the digital broadcasting in parts of the country that have not been covered by Signet.
Helen Obande, the executive director of AMWIK, pointed out areas such as Garsen, Moyale and some parts of Lamu where residents still cannot access radio and television channels other than KBC besides poor quality of service from the mobile operators.
Operators such as Safaricom, Airtel, Nation Media Group and Posta are required to remit 0.5 per cent of their gross revenue to the fund, which is estimated to raise Sh1 billion from the nearly Sh200 billion annually.
