{"id":112513,"date":"2026-02-13T16:35:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T13:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/?p=112513"},"modified":"2026-02-13T14:43:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T11:43:24","slug":"ca-launches-digital-radio-trial-in-nairobi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/02\/ca-launches-digital-radio-trial-in-nairobi\/","title":{"rendered":"CA launches digital radio trial in Nairobi"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 13 \u2013 The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has launched the country\u2019s first Digital Sound Broadcasting (DSB) trial for radio services in Nairobi, marking a shift toward digital radio transmission.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The rollout coincides with World Radio Day 2026 and comes as FM frequencies in major towns near full capacity, limiting room for new stations and causing signal interference.<\/p>\n

Radio remains one of Kenya\u2019s most accessible media platforms, reaching about 98 percent of households and supporting more than 300 licensed services.<\/p>\n

The traditional FM band (87.5\u2013108.0 MHz) is largely saturated in urban areas. In response, CA developed a Digital Sound Broadcasting framework in 2023 focusing on Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) in VHF Band III (174\u2013230 MHz) and Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) in the HF band.<\/p>\n

In 2025, the regulator authorised Signet Signal Distributors Ltd and Mast Rental Services to deploy trial networks. In January 2026, Mast Rental Services activated the first DAB+ trial network, currently carrying 14 radio stations within Nairobi.<\/p>\n

CA said digital broadcasting will allow multiple radio stations to operate on a single frequency block, reducing transmission costs and creating space for new entrants. Community broadcasters are expected to benefit from reserved capacity at lower carriage costs.<\/p>\n

Listeners are projected to experience improved sound quality, less interference and access to more stations, including niche programming. The digital platform can also support additional services such as programme guides and station information.<\/p>\n

The Authority clarified that digital radio will initially complement, not replace, FM services. No analogue switch-off date has been announced.<\/p>\n

The rollout will be phased, starting with the Mombasa\u2013Nairobi\u2013Kisumu corridor and other major urban centres, with a 12-month trial period to assess coverage, service quality and consumer uptake.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The rollout coincides with World Radio Day 2026 and comes as FM frequencies in major towns near full capacity, limiting room for new stations and causing signal interference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14438,"featured_media":71643,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,687],"tags":[17024,26355,934,8805,36,19476],"coauthors":[9476],"class_list":["post-112513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kenya","category-top-stories","tag-ca-2","tag-digital-radio","tag-featured","tag-launches","tag-nairobi","tag-trial"],"yoast_head":"\nCA launches digital radio trial in Nairobi - Capital Business<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The rollout coincides with World Radio Day 2026 and comes as FM frequencies in major towns near full capacity, limiting room for new stations and causing signal interference. 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Kenya breaking news | Kenya news today |\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/02\/ca-launches-digital-radio-trial-in-nairobi\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Capital Business\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/capitalfmkenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-13T13:35:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/files\/2021\/02\/Communications-authority-of-kenya.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"694\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"388\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"PHIDEL KIZITO\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@capitalfmkenya\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@capitalfmkenya\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"PHIDEL KIZITO\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/02\/ca-launches-digital-radio-trial-in-nairobi\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/02\/ca-launches-digital-radio-trial-in-nairobi\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"PHIDEL KIZITO\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#\/schema\/person\/27ddc81626f8f00b00f99d969c1ff0ee\"},\"headline\":\"CA launches digital radio trial in Nairobi\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-13T13:35:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/02\/ca-launches-digital-radio-trial-in-nairobi\/\"},\"wordCount\":282,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/02\/ca-launches-digital-radio-trial-in-nairobi\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/files\/2021\/02\/Communications-authority-of-kenya.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"CA\",\"digital radio\",\"featured\",\"launches\",\"Nairobi\",\"trial\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Kenya\",\"Top Story\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/02\/ca-launches-digital-radio-trial-in-nairobi\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/02\/ca-launches-digital-radio-trial-in-nairobi\/\",\"name\":\"CA launches digital radio trial in Nairobi - Capital Business\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/02\/ca-launches-digital-radio-trial-in-nairobi\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/2026\/02\/ca-launches-digital-radio-trial-in-nairobi\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/business\/files\/2021\/02\/Communications-authority-of-kenya.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-13T13:35:26+00:00\",\"description\":\"The rollout coincides with World Radio Day 2026 and comes as FM frequencies in major towns near full capacity, limiting room for new stations and causing signal interference. 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