DStv return excites customers
Digital satellite television (DStv) customers on Tuesday evening got a sweet surprise when the service was restored after a protracted court battle between MultiChoice Africa Holdings (MAH) and Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) over subscription rate hike.
There were widespread celebrations among the customers when the service returned temporarily for free. Many subscribers went into an overdrive informing each other about the development on social media.
“It has been hell being at home without such home entertainment. We had to keep up with endless questions from our children on why they could no longer access their favourite television programmes. This comes as a relief and we hope it marks the end of this episode,” said Jamilla Makande, a resident of Ndirande Township in Blantyre.
Jerome Mwenda, who operates a pub in Machinjiri Township, Blantyre, said without the provision of English Premiership football, their business faced challenges.
He said: “The dynamics of our businesses are tricky. Having an economy which is fragile has made things even tough. For the businesses to survive one needs to have everything in place. Just the absence of one element can affect your business massively.”
In a statement released yesterday, MAH corporate affairs and stakeholder relations group executive Keabestwe Modimoeng said they are reactivating all their payment platforms to enable the resumption of the payment of subscription fees as per the price schedule effective on August 1.
“We are happy to be resuming services in Malawi and we want to assure our customers that they can resume accessing our services as before,” reads the statement in part.
As part a good gesture, MAH said they will provide customers who have been active within the current year free access to the service from December 6 to 14.
Macra acting communications manager WezzieNkhoma-Somba yesterday refused to comment on the matter.
The DStv services in Malawi were withdrawn by parent providers MAH after Macra disapproved a proposed price revision. But on Friday, the High Court made a determination in favour of MAH to uphold its decision.
In his ruling, presiding judge William Yakuwawa Msiska said Macra acted beyond its jurisdiction as DStv rates are not set by Multichoice Malawi.
