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including KBC TV. The Commission has also assigned frequencies to 19 FM
Sound broadcasters, including KBC Radio.
(See Appendix 0 for a list of the licensed TV and FM stations found in Kenya,
courtesy ofCCK (2001).
2.2.6 Telecommunications Systems
According to London and London (1999:234), a telecommunications system
is a collection of compatible hardware and software arranged to
communicate information from one location to another. Telecommunication
systems can transmit text, graphic images, voice, or video information.
Digital fiber-optic trunk lines connect major market centers like Nairobi,
Mombasa, Nakuru and Eldoret (CSK, 2003). Kenstream, the digital data
network, is also available in a number of towns. The report indicates that
plans are underway to include Kenya as a part of the "Africa one fiber-optic
digital network" being put in place to connect countries around the
continent. According to the African Policy Monitor [APC] (2006:1), African
operators developing the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable SYstem (EASSy)
indicate that plans are underway. The laying of this undersea cable is
expected to provide a link that encircles Africa with a high capacity fibre
optic cable that will provide a more reliable communications network in the
second quarter of 2007.
The CSK (2003) also reports that Kenya has one earth station located in the
Rift Valley, which is operated by Telkom. The country has no satellites of its
own. VSAT services for upload are the monopoly of Telkom, which serves
major commercial banks and large corporations with applications such as
ATMS and electronic points of sale. The report further confirms that the
Communications Commission of Kenya, in early 2002, licensed a second
company (Gilat Alldean - Africa Ltd) to provide VSAT services for intra­
corporate data communications within the country. The license opens
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