Star media, a Chinese digital television company operating pay TV in Rwanda is planning to diversify into other business ventures. This was revealed by Eric Liang Liu, the Sales and Marketing manager of Star Media. “We have a five year plan in Rwanda and we have three steps to implement. First is pay TV, second stage is wireless internet and third is mobile TV services,” he disclosed. He said that they are using pay TV as a catch point for loyal consumers and that the customer base will be used for the success of other investments. Star Media is one year old in Rwanda and has around 10,000 subscribers for its pay TV, hosting 30 channels with plans to expand them to 40. “We can depend on current users to develop the wireless internet,” said Liang. But he was cagey on elaborating details on when they are starting to tap into the wireless internet stage.Rwanda is soon accessing the underground cable wire that will make internet access easier to all Rwandans. Liang also divulged that before the end of this year the company will rebrand.“ We are planning to change our logo,” he said. Currently, Star Media has signal coverage in only Kigali but Liang said that the rebranding will be followed by countrywide coverage. “Next year before May our signal will be all over the country. Our technicians are working to make this possible,” he said. The signal expansion will come with a clearer picture and more television channels. “We are going to improve the signal with MPEG 4 technology but currently we are using MPEG 2. This will bring high band width, high rate transmission, high compliancy and density,” he said. He also disclosed that they are soon to make presence in other East African countries. “We have been granted licence in Burundi and Tanzania. Next year in January we are opening up in Uganda. But in Kenya we are carrying out construction on TV networks,” he said. Ends
