Breaking news - Ban on illegal TV decoders un
I wonder is this the result of recent QL poll....
The government has undertaken a study on the technical and legal aspects of banning illegal set-top units (decoders) in Qatar.
The interagency collaboration, involving the Ministry of Business and Trade, Customs Authority and service providers, aims to explore how to curb, what it calls an “upsurge” in the illegal utility.
“We couldn’t just do it on our own, without the involvement of other parties. Once the study is prepared then we will announce a way forward,” Ministry of Business and Trade’s Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Office head Abdulla Ahmed Qayed told Gulf Times.
According to the intellectual rights body, it sought to ban the import of such decoders as dreambox and others through which close to 900 already-decrypted channels could be viewed, including “pornographic and anti-religious” material at a yearly cost of around QR1,200.
The Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Office does not hold a mandate to announce the ban on import of such equipment.
Illegal TV decoder boxes, which are used to decrypt pay TV channels, have been proliferating in Qatar – and the other GCC countries – and continue to be easily accessible through underground markets, along with third party firmware, software, and card-sharing programmes that are readily available via the Internet and from individual racketeers.
On Sunday, Saudi authorities started a crackdown on illegal pay TV decoder boxes marking what they termed as “a major milestone in the kingdom’s intellectual property rights protection efforts”.
In a similar move, UAE authorities started confiscating dish TV and Tata Sky from people who brought them into the country in 2007. The Indian Direct to Home (DTH) offers more than 100 Indian satellite TV channels which can be viewed by paying a mere Rs300 (around QR22) per month.
The foot print for Tata Sky (INSAT-4A) and Dish TV (NSS-6) is up to the Arabian Gulf allowing residents to receive a signal quality of up to 24%, as the minimum quality required is only 18%.
“This has hurt our business,” a major distributor offering Orbit, Pehla and other packages, said woefully.
“The past six months saw sales dropping by as much as 75%. Customers who ran out of quarterly or six-month package never came back. We know they have switched to these other means,” an official maintained.
Once the purchase is done, whether legal or illegal, the basic packages start from around QR60 a month and could go up to as much as QR300 if sports or movie packages are included. For comparison’s sake, Tata Sky and the likes cost roughly QR22 a month with three times the number of channels.
A dealer selling ‘dreambox’ yesterday said the demand remains very strong with the shop still selling thousands of units every month.
“Whether it is dreambox, max, enox, or a linksat; smuggled from Bahrain, Saudi or the UAE, the demand remains extremely strong,” he said.
According to the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Office, the department has caught three shops selling illegal TV systems this year.
The first shop had sold 1,200 annual subscriptions, while the second had 700 and the third, 500.
The department also recorded a total value of QR2.2mn due to copyright infringements in 2008. The figure for 2007 was QR2.5mn.
Link : http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=284958...
Someone above mentioned that Qtel is behind this move...absolutely wrong. Qtel is now governed by the regulator and so they cant take decisions by themselves...same goes for VoIP calling.
There are certain authorized providers like Pehla that have a valid licence to provide services in Qatar, and they have raised this issue due to their business being hit.
Anything is possible here people....just anything.Expect the unexpected.
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Can any body let me who has published this article in the News Paper?
The person who has published the news does not watch the satellite channels from HOTBIRD, ARABSAT BADARSAT OR NILESAT
Before poking nose in outside matter see what’s going on in your own house
Dear friends
Its Rumors around in news paper by the MEDIA
I guess is Ta Ta to the Tata Dish and decorders..
QR22 a month.. now that is cheap. I am paying over QR200 for merely handful of channels..
PM me if you want to get rid of your illegal decorder.lol
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HE WHO DARES WINS
Just Read it and ignore. I think there are more better issues to worry about. TV & Good entertainment is what keeps people at home in Hot Summers..
roof over qatar? no, thats too costly, doha maybe, thats a good idea, might as will ban the sand, the wind and the sun... but please dont touch my QL...
"give the man a half of a fish, you'll feed him for a day. teach the man how to catch fish, be sure to let him sign a franchise clause."
Breaking news.
Qatar is all set to construct a roof over the whole country in an attempt to block satellite signals.
VoIP calls are not banned.
And they will not come to your house and confiscate your decoders. They just won't let any more ppl get them through the airport and they will stop shops selling them...that's it.
So the ppl who already have them, be happy.
Whilst in Saudi, a colleague once brought a GPS unit back with him from Germany. At the airport , the customs confiscated the unit saying that "it was banned in Saudi Arabia".
The funny thing is that the same units were being sold openly in the local market..
Welcome to the Middle East :)
"This satellites are illegal". How come the USA don't shoot them down then?
Dear All
First of all let me tell you, anything that comes through the government via Qtel is legal, (through cable or Satellite like mosaic & cable decoder)
If they want to ban they must ban what is received by Dish Antenna example, HOTBIRD, ARABSAT, BADRSAT, NILESAT, TURKSAT, IRANSAT, ASIASAT, INSAT, PANAMSAT, EUROBIRD,PEHLA TV,TATASKY, RELIANCE BIG TV, PAKSAT, DIGITALTV, DIRECTTV, TFC, TELESTAR This satellites are illegal
Qatar Government should provide channels via cable or satellite, since there are so many nationalities stays in Qatar.
You cannot only watch Q TV
No body can Ban on illegal TV decoders
Be kind to your self & to others, before banning something see that you are also using the same in your house
Which segment of the Expats will be affected by this nice move?
they want mozaic tv to gain profit...
After VOIP now this.....
I knew things would come to this scenario. Thats why I never bought the equipment in the first place.
Why cant Q-tel tie up with TATA to become a provider instead of trying this circus?
I hope Vodaphone does that.
vigilance/ Surveillance department to ransack our terraces/balconies soon to get hold of illegal decoders from our houses...
Good call Baldrick...true.
we all should follow the law of the land....if local communication/media company could provide what we are getting currently at reasonably priced....we will go for it.
it looks like the authorities took notice of QL poll on satellite receivers, and want to take action accordingly...
How can you 'ban' something that is already 'illegal'?
If they ban TaTa SkY wat am i gonna watch ? QTV...??:(
they have banned dreambox NOT Tata Sky.
The UAE have banned Tata Sky.