AUCKLAND (Pacific Media Watch): More than 100 homes in Tuvalu could lose prime television programmes. The reason is SKY Pacific’s decision to move its satellite closer to the Solomon Islands and Nauru so they will be able to access the service, Radio New Zealand International reports.
This will in turn mean the signal to Tuvalu will become too weak for subscribers to pick up.
“It’s most likely that the 1.2 metre dish that most of our customers are using won’t be able to get the signal. We don’t have a free-to-air, once you don’t pay your subscriptions you won’t be able to get any television service”, the general manager of Tuvalu Telecommunication Company (TTC), Simeti Lopati, said.
Skyrocketing costs
The only way television subscribers in Tuvalu are able to keep receiving television is to get a much larger dish.
According to Islands Business, this may cost each subscriber A$2000 annually, instead of the current A$400.
“It will affect many subscribers in Tuvalu - including me”, Tuvalu’s Foreign Minister Apisai Ielemia said.
Sky Pacific TV had initially set the target date for its shift of transmission satellite to April 1, but it has been delayed to a yet unknown date.
The TTC will conduct testing to find out which size dish is required to receive television in Tuvalu once the transmission shift happens.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 New Zealand Licence.
Daniel Drageset
