Belarus TV maker is likely to get a monopoly for satellite dishes?
Besides, Horizon is set to deal with the legalization of its own satellite antennas. The relevant paperwork is being drafted and is likely to be approved by the Minsk City Hall.
The new document to regulate the installment of satellite dishes is expected to come out towards the end of August. It is very likely that it will be the easiest to have Horizon-made antennas approved. Viktar Laschankou, the chief of the technical department at the Horizon trade center, told our radio that taking care of everything was the task given to his company.
“We are currently drafting a standard procedure for approving the installment of satellite dishes. We will then have it approved with the Minsk City Hall. In fact, getting permission from the local authorities and housing and communal agencies is the responsibilities of customers. Our task is to mount and get it started. But now we have been tasked to take care about all the procedures associated with the legalization of a satellite antenna. Naturally, we charge money for this service,” Laschankou said.
The European Radio for Belarus obtained information that the companies that are expected to deal satellite dishes will be regulated by the paperwork, now being drafted by the Horizon and the Committee on Architecture. The charts of every building will have a specially designated spot where a satellite dish or an air conditioner should be mounted.
It is still why the authorities needed to beautify the facades of the building in the city so rapidly. But the fact that Horizon has more privileges than other companies makes us think that it will be granted a monopoly over the installment of satellite dishes. Lawyer and a former MP Uladzimir Navasiad believes that collaboration between Horizon and the local authorities would affect the content of the channels it is offering.
“The point for Horizon is to earn a monopolized profit for the installation of satellite dishes. I don’t know which channels are offered by Horizon. But I know that in Minsk and across the nation there is a monopoly for cable TV networks. We also know their content: entertainment, erotica, sex, movies, everything but politics or alternative news,” Navasiad said.
There is no drop in demand for satellite dishes, said a representative of the Horizon trade center. At the same time, private companies say they cannot follow the demand because people tend to spend on vacations not antennas in the summer season.
