The Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) has backed the decision of the Technical Committee of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) to exclude a mandatory conditional access system (CAS) from the updated standard on Digital Terrestrial Television (DDT) and director-to-home receivers.
The association said the revised standard on DTT and direct-to-home receivers made CAS non-mandatory for free-to-air (FTA) receivers, which meant they did not have to pay to receive FTA channels such as TV3, GHOne, TV Africa, Adom TV, UTV, Joy News, Joy Prime, Crystal TV, among others.
The GIBA estimates that more than 95 per cent of Ghanaians rely on such FTA channels for their broadcasting services and information for free.
In a press statement signed by its President, Mr Andrew Danso- Aninkora, and issued in Accra yesterday, the GIBA said: “GIBA considers the exclusion of a mandatory CAS as a major victory for indigenous Ghanaian businesses which dominated the FTA sector.
The association said in its earlier press statement published in the Daily Graphic of May 28, 2019, it raised concerns about the Ministry of Communication’s move to introduce a mandatory encryption of FTA television by means of a conditional access module for the purpose of collecting TV licence fees.
Source:Fiilafmonline/Graphic
