Star African Media targets country wide reach by 2012

Star African Media a pay-per-view TV company with operations in Rwanda plans to haveits signal over the whole country by 2012, the company’s top official has said. Dr Ken Xie, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Star African Media, told Business Times last week that the company is working on effective plans to ensure that its signals reach subscribers all over the country. According to Xie, the company will by June next year have covered at least 80 percent of the country in terms of signal reach in areas where the population had not been able to subscribe. “We are making sure that the remaining areas can, by June, be getting our signals clearly,” Xie said in an interview. The official noted that the aim will be achieved based on the measures put in place so as to contribute towards government’s vision of shifting the broadcast media from the current analog to digital era by 2012. “After introducing digital TV sets which does not require decoders as well as embarking on the terrestrial technology- a high quality in the communication link, we now aim at enabling Rwandans access the service irrespective of where they are,” he said. According to Xie, the terrestrial technology that transmits signals on, near or below the ground is appropriate for Rwanda give the mountainous physical nature which can easily affect transmission. The Chinese pay television service provider which has operated in Rwanda since 2008 has so far attracted 30,000 clients and according to the CEO, it is focused at fulfilling the agreement signed with the Government of Rwanda in helping to digitalize the media. The Sales and Marketing Director, Eric Liang Liu, said that in a way of bringing the service closer to the population, eight outlets have so far been opened as well as working with agents. “We work with business people in various areas as agents and by so doing, they also earn from the services they render to us,” Liu said. Meanwhile, the company is in a promotion drive for the Christmas season till January 15. Dubbed ‘home and show bouquet’, it gives both new and old clients bonus and discount on purchase. Ends