"Monopolies are bad because people get bad service for high prices. Competition is good because people get good service for competitive prices." --
Over three decades ago, satellite television arrived the shores of
Satellite TV, alias PayTV, began as an elite thing exclusively reserved for the rich and upper middle class, before gradually cascading to the masses. A similar experience with the arrival of mobile telephony services in the country known as GSM, but the only difference is that the pioneer PayTV company,
While
Calls were being made at N50 per minute. Per Second Billing system was not an option. Every appeal to these legacy operators to reduce prices of their SIM cards and consider per Second Billing system, fell on deaf ears. Soon, it was clear to Nigerians that the companies had form a duopoly, holding grip on the mobile telephony market.
Similarly,
In 2003, there was a seismic shift in the GSM market,
Price of SIM cards was crashed. The Per a Second Billing (PSB), the legacy mobile operators said was not feasible was introduced by
The arrival of Glo in the GSM market brought unprecedented competition in the industry. Like
Over two decades of mobile telephony in the country, we leapfrog from paltry 4000 active phone lives in 2001, to over 100 million in 2024. Despite challenging operating environment in the nation, Nigerians have come to take cheap GSM services for granted because it was made possible by healthy competition provided by
In the PayTV industry, the story is not pleasant. While
Like legacy mobile operators argued in the GSM market before Glo threw its heart in the ring,
Pay-as-You-View in the satellite television services is closely related to Per a Second Billing in the mobile telephony services. If not that Glo disrupted the GSM industry,
These projections might sound mythical and unrealistic, but the legacy mobile operators would had given similar reasons
In the last three years,
In electricity sector, estimated billing system, which is equivalent to what
Come to think of it, even Nigerians on Band A cannot boost of twenty hours of power supply. About seventy percent of DSTV/GOTV customers watch TV mainly in the evening and weekends. Where is the value for monthly payment system? Supposed regulators of PayTV services in the country have left customers in the winter cold. We are now at the mercy of monopolistic service provider.
In the past, some indigenous companies in the satellite television market tried to provide an enviable options to Nigerians but could not measure up to the South African legacy investor,
From HiTV to TSTV to recently, SLTV, none of the indigenous companies has been able to break the monopoly in the market, mainly for reasons ranging from lack of technical capacity, deep pocket and media savvy, etcetera, respectively. Longevity is always the challenge. A new PayTV will launch operation; raising the hopes of Nigerians, before you could say Jack; it has disappeared into thin air.
As a disgruntled subscriber to PayTV services with limited option because of strangulating monopoly, on behalf of other Nigerians, are yearning for a strong competition in the industry. I want to use this medium to passionately appeal to Dr.
It is not only a clarion call but patriotic prayer to an entrepreneurial Icon who has demonstrated ingenuity in taking on behemoths and dismantling monopolistic tendencies as demonstrated with
While Glo has online streaming app called GloTV, looking in the direction of satellite television is not out of place, especially in the interest of Nigerians clamoring for strong competition. I am sure that Dr.
The love for foreign sporting activities, entertainment programs and news, which satellite TV provides, has made Nigerian consumers helplessly beholding to monopolistic service provider. The failure of our regulatory institutions has made subscribers more vulnerable to incessant hike in tariffs in the industry.
Even Nigerian courts and tribunals have become toothless bulldogs in the face of crippling monopoly. For example,
In 2015, an order of Justice C.J. Aneke of
In 2018, similar order made by Justice
Orders of Competition and
Regulatory agencies failed in this aspect. The intervention of Nigerian courts has been made ineffectual by consistent disobedient of its orders. In the foregoing context, only a strong indigenous competitor will protect Nigerians from exploitative tendencies of monopoly in the PayTV industry.
QUOTES
"While Glo has online streaming app called GloTV, looking in the direction of satellite television is not out of place, especially in the interest of Nigerians clamoring for strong competition. I am sure that Dr.
"The love for foreign sporting activities, entertainment programs and news, which satellite TV provides, has made Nigerian consumers helplessly beholding to monopolistic service provider. The failure of our regulatory institutions has made subscribers more vulnerable to incessant hike in tariffs in the industry."
Chidiebere wrote via chidieberenwobodo@yahoo.com
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