There are DSTV subscribers and there are also real DSTV subscribers. The real ones are the ones who buy decoder and set up connection at home, office or in their business premises but the simple DSTV subscribers aka cable pirates are the ones who actually buy a a full DSTV set but make money out of it through illegally connecting other users by looping. They invest in modulators, receivers and cable hubs just for that purpose. The police knows not much about them but just go through Jamhuri, Highrise, South B, Ngummo, South C and any middle-class estate and you will just realise what kind of complicated world of crooks we live in.
The connection happens mostly with the knowledge of DSTV installers or even their help and like in one neighbour-hood I know, it is police officers who owns such establishments. So DSTV did pull the SuperSport plug on them recently and made it impossible to distribute the SuperSport channel to others through cable. But to defeat the system, the cable pirates bought new decoders and got the business going.
Today the pirates have all been disconnected and we sought to inquire from Multichoice Kenya General Manager, Mr Stephen Isaboke, after two of them called me to ask what was happening. Looping cables without proper authority is stealing and MultiChoice Kenya will not fail to act on such. Mr Isaboke added that the Kenya Copyright Act treats the the offence as a civil and not criminal offence which is wrong in away since it should be a criminal offence.
DSTV has a package for home user or Single User Decoders (SUD), Public Viewing package and apartment packages. The SUD is where the users buys a decoder and dish and get set at home which a Public Viewing Package is for businesses like Pubs, restaurants, Sporting Clubs and Resorts while the apartment package if where an apartment owner installs a single dish which will be accessed by a cable run through all the suites in the apartment.
The cable pirates have been connecting clients to the DSTV network allowing them access for even up to 25 premium channels like MNET, SuperSport, Movie Magic, MTV, History, NatGeo and Discovery for as low as Ksh 500 a month.
DSTV recently introduced a package where sports lovers could access the premium sports channels for as low as Ksh 900. The pulling off-air of the cable TV vendors by DSTV will lead to a good number of subscribers not being able to watch their TV.
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