Man Jose Kayima
Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) satellite service provider has given the national broadcaster until September 30th to clear Shs3.7b arrears or risk being switched off.
Over 30 television channels and free to air decoders that use UBC’s infrastructure to transmit services will be affected.
“We certainly would like to avoid such measures and would regret having to take actions that may result in termination of your services. We would also like you to consider opening a dialogue with us to consider governmental needs regarding connectivity requirements in Uganda,”Reads part of the letter from the satellite service provider Intelsat dated September 6 letter
The UBC Managing Director, Mr Winston Agaba also confirmed that they have not cleared the debt.
“We are engaging the satellite service provider. The funds we got for the first quarter of this financial year didn’t cater for satellite services.”
He added that they were working out a plan with the Ministry of Finance to sort out the problem.
“The government this year made budget cut budgets for all government agencies due to financial constraints.
Mr Agaba said if Intelsat suspends the transmission, it will cause them litigation challenges since they have contractual obligations with more than 30 television stations.”
“Switching off the satellite means that free-to-air services will go off air,” he said.
