RE: Iliegal Sale Of DTH Devies Triggers Outflow Of Funds
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Illegal buying of direct-to-home (DTH) devices by local households has led to the outflow of a substantial volume of funds to neighbouring India.
The sale of DTH devices in Bangladesh's market have multiplied in recent times. These are smuggled into the country through different border areas leading to loss of huge revenue by the government.
The DTH is a technology that enables a broadcasting company to directly beam the signal to a TV set through a receiver that is installed in the house. There is no need for a separate cable connection.
Dish, receiver and remote control sets needed for the DTH services are sold openly in Dhaka, Chittagong and Bogra and one has to spend a few thousand taka to buy a set.
India has seven DTH operators and currently devices belonging to all the companies are being sold at the Bangladesh's leading electronics markets.
The price of each connection ranges between Tk 3500 and Tk 12000.
The monthly recharging cost varies between Tk 350 and Tk 1200, depending on the number of channels and other services.
The local subscribers pay each month for recharging services by paying local currency to the sellers of the DTH devices.
Sources said the sellers send the amount to the Indian operators through third country like Singapore or through international credit cards.
Many also use Indian citizens residing in border areas for transferring money, sources claimed.
However, none in the trade could confirm the actual number of subscriptions to the DTH services in Bangladesh and the amount of money on account of recharging per month being transferred illegally.
But sources hinted that a sizable amount of money is being transferred illegally every month to India.
They also hinted a significant number of Bangladeshi households were already illegally receiving Indian DTH services.
Md Aminul Bashar (Bappy), proprietor of the Prime Electronics at the Moulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium said people from both urban and borders areas are purchasing the devices.
He said local people are buying these mainly due to its quality in pictures and other services such as recording systems.
"You convert the languages as you wish," Mr Bashar said.
He said buyers will have to do the recharging through them.
He also said they take service charges from the monthly payment.
Currently, 87-channel package in India is Rs 170. But local shop owners take Tk 350 to Tk 400 for a 30-day package.
Leaders of the Cable Operators Association of Bangladesh (COAB) said huge outflow of funds from Bangladesh is taking place due to the illegal sales and subscriptions.
Nizam Uddin Masud, a leader of the COAB told the FE that since the government was indifferent to the trade involving DTH devices, a significant amount of money was going out of the country each day.
The government has been losing revenue due to the illegal entry and sales of DTH equipment.
Mr Masud said the government should take immediate action in this regard.
"We will face huge financial losses if subscription grows further," said Mr Masud, a former secretary general of the COAB.
COAB leaders said PIN numbers of these services are available with the vendors as they are well-connected with the companies concerned.
Due to the increase in sales of LED and LCD TV sets in Bangladesh, there is also an increase in the demand for High Definition content.
There are no operators in Bangladesh with DTH content at the moment and so the people are turning to Indian alternatives, shop owners said.
Sources said the Indian DTH has basically filled a vacuum in view of non-availability of local DTH platforms.
COAB sources said using foreign DTH is illegal in many countries.
The connections are bought through some 'agents' in Bangladesh who get the PIN numbers of the DTH connections from some Indian locals.
"The regulatory measures are needed to address this issue," Md Deen Islam, another COAB leader said.
Illegal sale of DTH devices triggers outflow of funds | FIRST PAGE | Financial Express :: Financial Newspaper of Bangladesh
