DTH licences to be issued from October: PEMRA chief

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) will start issuing licenses to companies for establishing and operating DTH (Direct-to-Home) services in the country from October.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, PEMRA Chairman Absar Alam said the first DTH license would be issued in October which would help promote national language and culture.

He said the services of all illegal Indian DTH available in the Pakistani would be stopped.

The PEMRA Chairman said he was taking steps to ensure transparency within the organization so that no one could point finger at it. If any one had objection to PEMRA’s decisions, courts could be approached.The PEMRA respected the court decisions, he added.

He said both PEMRA and media were important for each other. Everyone wanted an independent PEMRA along with free media, which could only be possible when the media would respect the decisions of PEMRA. There should be no criticism on the PEMRA because of an individual, he added.

He said in developed countries, the media was free, but it showed responsibility.

Absar said the owners of media outlets got their machinery and equipment (such as camera) got insured and they should also ensure such steps for the protection and welfare of their workers.

He said the people in remote areas would be benefitted from DTH services, which would also help improve the standard of programmes telecast by the electronic media.

DTH is a digital satellite service that provides television viewing services directly to subscribers through satellite transmission anywhere in the country. The signals are digital by nature and are received directly from the satellite. The digital signals provide optimum quality in all features and make viewing an absolute pleasure.

The PEMRA Chairman expressed the hope that the elctronic media would follow code of conduct and the owners would initiate programmes for improving the professional skills of journalists.