IndianMascot
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Speaking at a conference at the Karachi Press Club last October, leaders of Cable Operators Association of Pakistan, Abdul Jabar Khan, Ghufran Mustafa and others said that at least 2 million illegal Indian DTH/Dish TV had been sold in Pakistan through which the banned Indian channels were being seen in the country. They pointed out that India was earning billions of rupees through these illegal DTH devices. They said PEMRA (Pak Regulator) had issued licences to cable operators after they had got themselves registered with the government, but DTH/ Dish TV devices were being illegally sold in Pakistani markets. The COAP leaders called upon the government to put an immediate ban on the sale of illegal DTH/Dish TV devices.
Thousands of households in Pakistan are illegally buying subscriptions to various Indian direct-to-home platforms by illegally transferring money to India through ATMs in Bihar and adjoining areas. The connections are bought through some operators in Pakistan who get the PIN numbers of the DTH connections from some Indian locals. The equipment for these services is easily available in various parts of Pakistan including Hall Road in Lahore for a few thousand rupees. These are mostly purchased by cable operators who sell Indian channels to their customers as there is a huge demand for them in Pakistan, though some individuals have also bought these dishes. Initial installation of Indian DTH in Pakistan costs about Rs 3500 and further payments for renewal are done online through accounts in Singapore or another country.
With the rise of LCD and LED sale in Pakistan, the demand for high definition content has increased and people are no more finding the conventional cable very much according to their requirement. Therefore, demand for DTH equipment is rising. According to a Pakistani press report, Indian newspaper “The Telegraph” had earlier reported in 2011 that money for the DTH connections is deposited into the bank accounts of the locals in Bihar and its adjoining districts. The money is withdrawn through ATM cards and is used for purchasing the coupons of Direct-To-Home (DTH) services such as Tata Sky or Dish TV. The PIN numbers of these coupons are then sent to some “Barde Sahib” who, according to the local police of Bihar, resides in Pakistan.
The report further states ‘Indian police says these bank accounts are opened in the name of poor local residents of the district who get Rs 5,000 per month for letting brokers use their accounts and ATM cards. According to the investigators, the PIN numbers of these coupons are sent to Pakistan and other neighbouring countries through SMS and Emails.
The Indian Police has arrested some local shopkeepers who sell DTH recharge coupons. One of the shopkeepers said he sold Rs 1.5 million worth of coupons. Another shopkeeper sold Rs 400,000 worth of recharge coupons in just 10 days. Pakistan Government is also worried about this piracy as it adversely affected their own market. As stated by PakSat CEO Usman Bajwa, one of the most important challenges for PakSat to overcome is piracy. According to him, “a significant number of Pakistani households are already illegally receiving Indian DTH services. Indian DTH has basically filled a vacuum over a period of last seven to eight years, because of the unavailability of Pakistani DTH platforms. There is now increasing demand from the industry to take appropriate legal and regulatory measures to address this issue,” said Bajwa. Recently, Pakistan had alcso banned reception of all Indian TV channels.
Bangladesh story is the same. There are dealers claiming to be ‘authorized dealer’ of Indian DTH services and install the equipment in interested party’s home within Bangladesh. They provide all types of DTH set-top boxes including HD channels, 3D channels etc. with one year warranty of all the DTH providers, smart cards, recharge coupons, online recharge facilities on demand. A Tata Sky HD set-top box in Bangladesh is provided at Tk. 12,500.00 BDT.
Bangladesh and Pakistan do not have DTH yet but in Nepal it is the local DTH operators who along with their government are fighting against the illegal DTH service from India. The government along with the DTH service provider in the country have removed thousands of DTH sets on the grounds that they were illegally installed. Following instructions from the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC), the Home Ministry started raiding houses to remove DTH sets of Indian companies. To promote their own service, Dish Home a Nepalese DTH player replaces the Indian DTH equipment in Rs 2,000 only whereas new subscribers need to cough up Rs 5,000 for the installation.
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Thousands of households in Pakistan are illegally buying subscriptions to various Indian direct-to-home platforms by illegally transferring money to India through ATMs in Bihar and adjoining areas. The connections are bought through some operators in Pakistan who get the PIN numbers of the DTH connections from some Indian locals. The equipment for these services is easily available in various parts of Pakistan including Hall Road in Lahore for a few thousand rupees. These are mostly purchased by cable operators who sell Indian channels to their customers as there is a huge demand for them in Pakistan, though some individuals have also bought these dishes. Initial installation of Indian DTH in Pakistan costs about Rs 3500 and further payments for renewal are done online through accounts in Singapore or another country.
With the rise of LCD and LED sale in Pakistan, the demand for high definition content has increased and people are no more finding the conventional cable very much according to their requirement. Therefore, demand for DTH equipment is rising. According to a Pakistani press report, Indian newspaper “The Telegraph” had earlier reported in 2011 that money for the DTH connections is deposited into the bank accounts of the locals in Bihar and its adjoining districts. The money is withdrawn through ATM cards and is used for purchasing the coupons of Direct-To-Home (DTH) services such as Tata Sky or Dish TV. The PIN numbers of these coupons are then sent to some “Barde Sahib” who, according to the local police of Bihar, resides in Pakistan.
The report further states ‘Indian police says these bank accounts are opened in the name of poor local residents of the district who get Rs 5,000 per month for letting brokers use their accounts and ATM cards. According to the investigators, the PIN numbers of these coupons are sent to Pakistan and other neighbouring countries through SMS and Emails.
The Indian Police has arrested some local shopkeepers who sell DTH recharge coupons. One of the shopkeepers said he sold Rs 1.5 million worth of coupons. Another shopkeeper sold Rs 400,000 worth of recharge coupons in just 10 days. Pakistan Government is also worried about this piracy as it adversely affected their own market. As stated by PakSat CEO Usman Bajwa, one of the most important challenges for PakSat to overcome is piracy. According to him, “a significant number of Pakistani households are already illegally receiving Indian DTH services. Indian DTH has basically filled a vacuum over a period of last seven to eight years, because of the unavailability of Pakistani DTH platforms. There is now increasing demand from the industry to take appropriate legal and regulatory measures to address this issue,” said Bajwa. Recently, Pakistan had alcso banned reception of all Indian TV channels.
Bangladesh story is the same. There are dealers claiming to be ‘authorized dealer’ of Indian DTH services and install the equipment in interested party’s home within Bangladesh. They provide all types of DTH set-top boxes including HD channels, 3D channels etc. with one year warranty of all the DTH providers, smart cards, recharge coupons, online recharge facilities on demand. A Tata Sky HD set-top box in Bangladesh is provided at Tk. 12,500.00 BDT.
Bangladesh and Pakistan do not have DTH yet but in Nepal it is the local DTH operators who along with their government are fighting against the illegal DTH service from India. The government along with the DTH service provider in the country have removed thousands of DTH sets on the grounds that they were illegally installed. Following instructions from the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC), the Home Ministry started raiding houses to remove DTH sets of Indian companies. To promote their own service, Dish Home a Nepalese DTH player replaces the Indian DTH equipment in Rs 2,000 only whereas new subscribers need to cough up Rs 5,000 for the installation.
Wish to read further, ---------------------
