2013-06-10

Govt to enforce court decision on antenna companies

From: Macao Business

Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On says the government will enforce last week’s court decision over the unlicensed public antenna companies operating in Macau.

Mr Chui told reporters on Saturday that he had ordered the Bureau of Telecommunications Regulation to work out how to ensure the television service providers obeyed the ruling.

The Court of Second Instance has given the government 90 days to stop unlicensed public antenna companies from illegally relaying cable television signals. The decision is final and no appeal is possible.

Unlicensed public satellite antenna service providers charge a low rental fee of about MOP25 per month, to retransmit TV channels from around the region to households, using unlicensed cable networks, and without authorisation from the copyright holders.

Macau Cable TV has been the only legal concessionaire of cable television services since 1999. Its monopoly concession expires next year.
The unlicensed antenna services are very popular in Macau with the majority of the population receiving TV signals in this way, a practice that has been tacitly allowed by the government.

Now, they face a television blackout.

The Public Utilities Concern Association has already called for the government to find a solution that ensures that people can view television programs at a reasonable cost.


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