UCC to migrate all FM radio stations to digital broadcast

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) is planning to transition all radio stations currently operating on the outdated FM spectrum to digital audio broadcasting. This is aimed at improving service quality, which has been compromised under the existing system.

In an interview with this publication at the weekend, Mr Fred Otunnu, the director for corporate affairs at the UCC, said the FM spectrum is congested and they cannot assign new applicants radio frequencies unless someone pulls out.

He added that because of the congestion on the FM frequency, many radio stations are experiencing interference in their signals.

“We have done trials which were successful albeit with a few challenges, but we are moving to the next stage. We have also done public consultations and have got the feedback, we are moving to policy level. You know that FM is exhaustible, many jurisdictions in Africa have embraced digital audio broadcasting,” he said.

When asked why FM service quality is compromised and why digital audio broadcasting is now preferred, Mr Otunnu explained that, for example, Japan initially manufactured vehicles with radios that only tuned up to 90 FM, as that was the country's spectrum planning range. This limitation restricted the number of stations that could be assigned frequencies.

He said: “Most modern cars today have radios with frequencies going beyond that and with digital broadcasting, many radios can be given frequencies that don’t interfere with the other frequencies”.

During the Car-free day festival organised by Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) on Saturday last week, Ms Irene Ochwo, who is supervising the city digital radio project, said together with UCC, they are setting up a digital sound broadcasting station because the FM frequency is no longer available in Kampala. 

She added that they are giving out free digital audio broadcasting receivers to listeners in Kampala to give feedback about the signal.

“Digital broadcast is different from FM. We want someone from Kansanga to tell us whether they are receiving a clear signal. With FM, when you reach a valley, the sound quality deteriorates, but when you use DAB [Digital Audio Broadcasting] and it encounters an obstacle, it cuts off immediately and when there is no more interruption, it comes back immediately,” Ms Ochwo said.

She added that they are assisting in researching signal strength across different areas of Kampala, identifying both weak and strong spots. This research will help the UCC develop a framework for implementing the project effectively.

Currently, KCCA’s Radio Kampala, Nation Media Group-Uganda’s 93.3 KFM and 14 other stations are legally online.

Ms Ochwo said in Europe, the platform can take a limitless number of stations and in the last meeting they held with UCC, as many as 60 stations had applied for registration on the platform.

Mr Otunnu said there are currently 250 radio stations registered with the UCC, and every year, they receive numerous new applications. He expressed confidence that the new platform will be able to accommodate all the incoming applicants.

The development of radio communication in Uganda, like in other African countries, has followed technological advancements. It began with transmissions on Amplitude Modulation (AM), Medium Wave (MW) and Short Wave (SW) channels, which were eventually phased out with the explosive introduction of Frequency Modulation (FM) alongside the liberalisation of media broadcasting in the 1990s. Since then, Ugandans have primarily relied on FM frequencies, with online streaming only emerging as a significant player more recently.