Kenya's pay-as-you-go energy supply company, M-Kopa Solar yesterday extended its service offering with the launch of a 16-inch digital TV set.

The digital device is aimed at 70% of the country's population who do not have access to television. It features a built-in decoder and will offer viewers the opportunity to access over 26 digital television stations for free.

According M-Kopa the sets will offer a minimum of four viewing hours once the solar batteries are fully charged.

The company's solar home systems, which include lighting LED bulbs, radio and charging ports for mobile phones, reach a customer base of over 250,000 homes in East Africa.

Users pay a daily fee for the service and now have an option to invest in a digital TV set.

Jesse Moore, Managing Director of M-kopa said that this was a huge leap for its customers. "Customers can now connect to the news and information [through the tv sets] that everybody aspires to have....".

M-Kopa customers can expect to pay an additional daily fee of Kshs50 (US$0.5) for the digital TV set for a period of two years until it is paid off and ownership transferred. "We know owning a television is a life changing proposition for our customers," Moore added.

M-Kopa partner Safaricom emphasised the use of the sets as a solution to broadcast education channels. Speaking at the launch Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore said the company is looking to enhance its contribution to the education sector.

The television sets are already in 500 homes and the target is to distribute over 10,000 sets locally, with plans to enter the Uganda and Tanzania markets in the near future.