Dhiraagu says 'surprised' by new rebroadcasting regulation

Dhiraagu said on Tuesday that it had never thought the Broadcasting Commission (BroadCom) would come up with a rule that would require its rebroadcasting or cable TV services to be stopped, and there was no such clause in the draft regulations sent for suggestions.

A new rebroadcasting regulation was announced by BroadCom in January, which states that cable TV services can only be provided by companies with 100% local shareholders. Dhiraagu has now said that its cable TV service ‘Dhiraagu TV’ will have to discontinue the service once its licence expires in January 2023.

The parliament’s regulation committee is looking into a complaint alleging that Broadcom has enacted a rebroadcasting rule to benefit particular businesses and eliminate competition, and Dhiraagu's top officials were summoned to the committee on Tuesday.

Responding to questions raised by the members of the committee, Dhiraagu CEO and Managing Director Ismail Rasheed said that the company had invested heavily in launching Dhiraagu TV service and if the service had to be discontinued, it would be a huge loss for the company. 

"We did not imagine there will be such a big change. It's a shame that something that's been invested in has to be stopped like this. Also, since the profit margin of the service is slim, such changes will have a huge impact on business," Rasheed said.

Dhiraagu's legal and board director Hazrat Rasheed Hussain said that BroadCom had sent drafts outlining changes to the new rebroadcasting rules. He added that none of the drafts contained a clause that prohibits Dhiraagu from rebroadcasting. Dhiraagu pointed out that the existence of such a clause came to light only after the rules were announced and implemented.

Expressing Dhiraagu's vision, Hazrat said the Broadcasting Act does not state that rebroadcasting is an area that is restricted to Maldivians only. In other words, a regulation made under the Act cannot be changed so that companies owned by foreign entities cannot rebroadcast, he said.

"The law only says BroadCom has to make regulations, but it doesnt say that these rules should make it impossible for a particular group of people to do business. In other words, what is not in the law cannot be brought in by regulations. We feel it cannot be done that way", Hazrat said.

When committee members asked if there was any way to provide the service to Dhiraagu as per the existing rules, Hazrat said:

"So if these regulations are not amended, we will have to discontinue the service. We will not be able to get a licence to provide the service,: Hazrat said.

CEO Rasheed said that Dhiraagu TV services are being expanded to rural areas and if there is a business in the island that is interested in doing so in collaboration with Dhiraagu, they are given the opportunity. He added that if there is a good network in the island and a team that wants to provide a new network, then there is a possibility of doing so in collaboration with Dhiraagu.

"We ask if they can provide quality services to their homes. If we can do that, we will become partners with them. That option is always there," Rasheed said.

However, Rasheed said he believes that the arrival of new businesses may threaten some people who have been in the business for a long time. He also pointed out that this would be the way to create a competitive business environment. He pointed out that if there is no competition, prices will go up for the common man.

"In the absence of the same field competitors on a normal basis, there is a possibility of prices rising in this service as well," Rasheed said.

One of the most difficult things for Dhiraagu in providing services is finding channels from abroad, Rasheed said. He pointed out that this also was due to some people in the country having exclusively taken over the channels.

He added that a significant part of these hurdles has been swallowed up with the launch of Dhiraagu TV service. He also noted that Dhiraagu TV has become very popular among the masses in the last five years.

"Until this happened, we were increasing the number of channels. Since then, we have added the channel BBC exclusively to," Rasheed said.

Dhiraagu pointed out in the committee today that Dhiraagu TV is providing local channels free of charge, and that the only work that local channels will have to do is a one-time effort to bring their signal up to Dhiraagu TV. The company also sells packages to the public and businesses after applying to BroadCom and obtaining permission.

Packages sold by Dhiraagu to ordinary households are priced between MVR 150 - 450.