Regional consumer electronics firm Samsung Electronics East Africa on Saturday welcomed the move by the Kenyan government to waive import duty payable on Digital Set Top Box units as the country races to embrace Digital Terrestrial Television services.

The move which was announced by Finance Minister Njeru Githae when he delivered his Budget Statement on Thursday has resonated well with telecom firm as is currently awaiting type rating approvals for its DVB-T2 compliant TV sets from the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK).

"We are pleased at the government's move to remove import duty on Set Top Boxes as it will greatly encourage a faster migration process for millions of Kenyans wishing to enjoy digital TV broadcast services," the firm's East Africa Business Leader, Robert Ngeru said.

"Samsung has already submitted and is awaiting type rating approval from CCK for our DVB-T2 compliant TV sets," Ngeru told journalists in Nairobi on Saturday. The Set Top Boxes will convert the digital signals.

"The digital signal is available in Nairobi. This will increase spectrum capacity," said Alfred Ambani, the acting Assistant Director of Multi-Media Services at the state-run regulator, the CCK told Xinhua late on May 17.

Ambani said the cost of assisting television viewers to move to the digital signal from the current analogue signals required some state input.

"There will be a cut-off date when we will have to move to digital signal from the analogue. It is important consumers be told to acquire the set top boxes," Ambani told journalists.

The CCK is exploring the possibility of using locally available funds set aside for the universal access policies, to assist millions of people to access the digital signals.

However, the universal access fund, aimed at assisting millions of poor people to access telecommunication services, remains inactive several years after its set up.

Francis Wangusi, the CCK Acting Director-General, said the creation of the Fund took a year after the relevant laws were enacted but the appointment of the board members was delayed by the lack of applicants for the posts.

But speaking in Nairobi, Ngeru confirmed that the move to scrap tax on set up boxes will help accelerate the national migration from analogue to digital TV.

During his budget statement reading on Thursday, Githae said that Treasury's move is geared at boosting efforts to ensure a seamless migration from analogue to digital TV broadcast delivery by 2015.

The move Githae explained is also part of the government's effort to facilitate Private Sector for Growth and Employment.

"The entire world is targeting year 2015 as the deadline to migrate from analogue to digital television signals," Githae said.

"To make the set-top boxes which form an integral part of this migration available to Kenyans at affordable price, I propose to remove duty on the importation of these gadgets."

The switch off to digital signals has raised controversy in Kenya after local broadcasters failed to clinch the tender to provide the digital signals.

Broadcasters have challenged CCK in court over the implementation of the regulator's new set of rules which require broadcasters to rely on a signal distributor.

Broadcasters under the Kenyan Media Owners Association charge that the CCK is not purely independent of state control and that the regulations are against the law.

John Omo, the CCK Secretary and Legal Advisor, said the regulator saw no need to license more signal distributors because there would be no business to sustain the licensee.

Broadcasters argue the CCK has no right to determine television content and that those with investments in signal distribution should be allowed to continue distributing it.