UCC cracks whip on illegal broadcasters

KAMPALA. Companies that rely on radio spectrum for operations are expected to see an improvement in their business now that Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has planted equipment worth billions in Masindi and Mbale to crack the whip on illegal and non-compliant broadcasters.
In a meeting with officials from the Central Radio Management Service of the Republic of Korea on Tuesday, UCC revealed that the new system will improve its capacity to manage spectrum resources in the country.
“We all listen to radio, watch television but the airline industry also needs it for navigation. So radio makes it more important to ensure it is not interfered with. At the same time, everybody is required to get authorisation. So we want to know who is out there and if they are complying,” Ms Irene Kaggwa, UCC director engineering and communications infrastructure, said in Kampala.
By having those remote stations, UCC is able to make sure the spectrum is well utilised and that illegal operations as well as interference are minimised.
Traditionally, without this equipment, the practice involved sending a team to collect information on non-compliant broadcasters. Besides generating signals on unregistered broadcasters, UCC said the same technology would enable it to collect information on broadcasters whose rights have been suspended.
UCC consumer affairs manager Ibrahim Bbosa, said at a time when people are talking about the internet of things, machine to machine communication and Artificial Intelligence, managing the radio spectrum is very critical especially for Uganda.
“All these have a growing dependence on spectrum communication,” Mr Bbosa said, adding: “Uganda is very unique because we are talking about 100 per cent radio coverage with over 292 radio stations, over 20 providers of voice and data services and over 24 million mobile subscribers. All these depend on a finite resource-spectrum which needs to be managed.”
Compliance is key if broadcasters are to meet their projected profits. However, compliance to broadcasting requirements stands at 60 per cent.
“Two way radio operators and cellar operators are at a much higher percentage of compliance. The main challenge remains among broadcasters. It is mainly issues like stations going out of their bandwidth and interfering with another’s frequency,” Ms Kaggwa said.