Kenya consults on IPTV set-top box specification

Public Consultation On Draft Technical Specification For Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) Set Top Boxes

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) is the regulatory authority for the ICT industry in Kenya with responsibilities in telecommunications-commerce, broadcasting and postal/courier services. CA is also responsible for managing the country’s numbering and frequency spectrum resources as well as safeguarding the interests of users of ICT services.

The CA has issued licenses to a number of service providers to offer Internet Protocal Television (IPTV) and Video on Demand (VoD) services.

In furtherance of its responsibility to safeguard the interests of consumers, the Authority has developed draft technical specifications for IPTV set top boxes (STBs) to ensure reliability and acceptable quality of customer premise equipment used in reception of the said broadcasting service.

The IPTV STB is a decoder that is connected to an Internet point of presence (POP) to decode digital television signals from Internet bundled services that include television services.

The Authority is proposing to adopt ETSI EN 300 468 standard as the basis for the technical specifications for IPTV receivers in Kenya.

The CA therefore invites comments and inputs from the public and all interested parties on the draft technical specifications for IPTV STBs. The draft technical specifications are available on the Authority’s website.

The comments received will inform any changes to the final technical specifications for IPTV STBs. The finalized specifications will be published on the CA website for use by the industry and the public.

Stakeholders and the public are invited to review the draft specifications and submit their input and comments in writing to the address provided below or via email address iptvspecs@ca.go.ke before 30th November 2017.

The Director General
Communications Authority of Kenya
P.O. Box 14448 Nairobi 00800
Tel: +254 (020) 4242000, +254 703-042000