DhiTV sues over terrestrial broadcasting license

Broadcasting Maldives Pvt Ltd, which operates DhiTV, has sued the Telecommunications Authority of the Maldives (TAM) for reportedly refusing to grant the private channel a terrestrial broadcasting license.

At yesterday’s Civil Court hearing on the case, State Attorney Ahmed Usham argued that a decision on DhiTV’s license should be made by the recently-formed broadcasting commission, once its members are sworn in to office.

Usham claimed that the government has stopped enforcing existing broadcasting regulations as parliament was in the process of formulating new broadcasting laws.

However the plaintiff’s lawyer Azima Shukoor insisted that the government did not have the authority to disregard the broadcasting regulations.

At the previous hearing, Usham revealed that under the agreement renewed on December 2, 2010, DhiTV was granted a license to broadcast via satellite while the Broadcasting Company had not participated in the bidding for terrestrial licenses in 2007 when a company called Atoll Investment was granted the license.

Former Attorney General Azima argued at yesterday’s hearing that as a result of the government’s decision to renew DhiTV’s agreement with only the license to broadcast via satellite and not cable as before, the media company’s service was not widely available.

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