People in countryside say they have been excluded from digital migration

GERALD MATEMBU

Upcountry consumers have cried out to the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), saying they have been excluded from the digital migration which has made access to tv services difficult for many.

They told the regulatory body that most of the available and affordable provider are predominantly operational in towns living those in rural areas in a black out.

The remarks were made during the 7th edition of UCC consumers parliament held at Wash and Wills Hotel in Mbale on Friday.

UCC regretted the problem attributing it to infrastructural gaps and pledged to fix soon to scale up coverage to all parts of the country.

Top among the consumers' cries was the digital migration which has cut off rural people from accessing TV services.

They further noted that that the service is only accessible by those on satellite platforms such DSTV and Zuku which are unaffordable to majority.

They appealed to government to fix the problem.

The CEO Uganda Consumer Action Network, Dan Malon, said that the move has deprived citizens of their right to information adding that government has taken longer than anticipated to scale up the coverage.

Another issue of great concern was the protection of children. The stake holders told authorities from the regulatory body that some of the content aired by some broadcasters contains adult content and could corrupt the morals of children.

Julian Mweheire, the Director Industrial Affairs and Content Development at UCC attributed the problem to infrastructural gaps by the relevant providers.

The Head Multimedia at UCC, Meddie Kaggwa, noted that commission has established stringent guidelines against broadcasting material that is deemed to be harmful to the consumer.

He urged the public to report to the commission such abuses.

The 7th UCC consumer's parliament comes at a time when the regulatory body is celebrating 20 years of successful regulation of the communication sector.