Telecommunications in Kenya

Telecommunications in Kenya include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

Radio and television

Radio stations:

state-owned radio broadcaster operates 2 national radio channels and provides regional and local radio services in multiple languages; a large number of private radio stations, including provincial stations broadcasting in local languages; transmissions of several international broadcasters are available (2007);
24 AM, 8 FM, and 6 shortwave (2001).

Radios:

3.07 million (1997).

Television stations:

roughly a half-dozen privately owned TV stations and a state-owned TV broadcaster that operates 2 channels; satellite and cable TV subscription services available (2007);

The BBC World Service is available in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu.

Main lines:

251,600 lines in use, 124th in the world (2012);

Telephone system: inadequate; fixed-line telephone system is small and inefficient; trunks are primarily microwave radio relay; business data commonly transferred by a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) system; sole fixed-line provider, Telkom Kenya, is slated for privatization; multiple providers in the mobile-cellular segment of the market fostering a boom in mobile-cellular telephone usage with teledensity reaching 65 per 100 persons (2011).

  4.0 million users, 59th in the world (2009);

Wireless broadband: 954,896 subscriptions, 72nd in the world; 2.2% of the population, 124th in the world (2012).

Internet hosts: 71,018 hosts, 88th in the world (2012).

Internet service providers:

66 ISPs (2014).

Internet censorship and surveillance

Kenya was rated as "partly free" in the 2009 and 2011 Freedom on the Net reports from Freedom House with scores of 34 and 32 which is much closer to the "free" rating that ends at 30 then it is to the "not free" rating that starts at 60.

The government does not employ technical filtering or any administrative censorship system to restrict access to political or other content. Citizens engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail, and are able to access a wide range of viewpoints, with the websites of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the U.S.-based Cable News Network (CNN), and Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper the most commonly accessed.

The constitution protects freedom of expression and the "freedom to communicate ideas and information." However, it also grants the government the authority to punish defamation, protect privileged information, and restrict state employees’ "freedom of expression in the interest of defense, public safety, public order, public morality or public health." In January 2009, the government passed a controversial Communications Amendment Act that established that any person who publishes, transmits, or causes to be published in electronic form obscene information commits an offense. The Act also outlines other forms of illegality associated with the use of information and communication technologies. At the end of 2010, the measure had not been used to prosecute anyone for online expression. Under the Act, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), rather than the independent Media Council of Kenya, is responsible for regulating both traditional and online media. The CCK is also independent, but because the CCK has yet to make any decisions affecting the internet, its autonomy and professionalism in making determinations remain to be seen.

In July 2009 the government announced that all cell phone users had to provide the government with their name and identification number. This regulation applies to citizens who access the Internet through cell phone-based services as well.

References

External links

Communications Commission of Kenya
Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, government corporation and leading media company.
Postal Corporation of Kenya

Radio and television

Internet censorship and surveillance

See also

References

External links