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Ban PA fee for installation of satellite dish say dealers

Satellite dealers, who are increasing in number in Malta, want the Government to remove the fees regarding applications for notifications to the Planning Authority for installing a digital satellite dish. The dealers say that this goes against the concept of free trade and gives an unfair advantage to Melita Cable Television.

Malta’s businessmen argue that applications for permits to any organisation - in Malta’s case, the Planning Authority - goes against European Union policy. Some businessmen feel that the Government should remove all permits in the next Budget as they feel that, since Malta is proposing to become a full member of the European Union, all barriers in telecommunications, and this includes licences, should be removed.

Certain businessmen in the digital satellite field have expressed the opinion that it is absurd that removing a satellite dish from one place to another within the same household, requires the permit of the Commissioner of Police. They believe that this bureaucracy discourages people from buying a satellite dish.

EU regulations stipulate that licences for satellite dishes go against EU law and this was confirmed recently by Dr Simon Busuttil, Director of the Malta EU information Centre (MIC).

Some businessmen involved in selling satellite dishes told MaltaToday that they want to meet government officials to thrash this out, as things are getting out of hand. They have attempted to do this in the past, but now after Dr Busuttil’s statement they want to try again, hopefully, this time with more success.

Starting prices for digital satellites are now in the region of Lm240.

Some consumers are still reluctant to buy a satellite dish because of the Lm25 yearly licence and having to request a permit from the Planning Authority when a satellite dish is larger than 1.2 meters. A General Development Order from the Planning Authority is required when a dish is of a smaller size.

MaltaToday is informed that leading companies in the satellite field are installing up to nine digital satellites per week. Considering that there are approximately 50 retail outlets selling digital satellites, the number of dishes installed is very high.

According to one of the retail outlets, around 22 per cent of households in Malta have already installed a dish.

Satellite dealers also reported a good sale of satellite dishes during summer, confirming that telecommunications is still the number one selling item in Malta. Most of the clients are newly weds.

"It seems that the Planning Authority is becoming stricter regarding the installation of satellite dishes in various households, entertainment and business entities so as to give a helping hand to Melita Cable," a leading businessman told MaltaToday.

Many feel that Melita Cable, which offers the second most expensive rates in Europe, no longer offers value for money.

It is also noted that many of the consumers of Melita Cable are sports addicts. It seems that many of them are opting for a satellite system which provides a full range of sporting activities, such as Italian and English soccer, Formula 1, etc. The Tele+ package is also a big hit with sports lovers.

Some 10,000 have already subscribed for the Melita Cable Sports Channel and an estimated 6,000 more will eventually apply. As stated last Friday in a Press Conference, Melita Cable have paid USD2 million (Lm900,000) to make use of 240 live football matches, wrestling, PGA Golf Championships and other sport activities on the Sports Channel.

It seems that the revenue received from the present subscription of Lm50 a year is insufficient to cover the costs to run this channel.

Some 20 per cent of households still rely solely on their aerial to watch television programmes, but this percentage is likely to dwindle within the next few years.

With almost 60 per cent of people into cable, many still feel that this option is still the most popular one, although quite a large number of households are replacing cable to install a satellite digital system.

Some 15 per cent of consumers own both cable and satellite. It seems that the main reason for this is that local channels are not transmitted on satellite.

There are a few households which have kept their aerial whilst also owning a satellite dish.