Sarath Amunugama's speech

On Channel One MTV News 1st there was a report about a speech made by Former Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama.

Did anyone notice the context of the speech. He spoke of the future of television. He said that in the future taxing of tv programmes will not be possible and he also mentioned about DVB-S. He said that in the future local tv stations will be replaced by satellite based broadcasters operating on the DVB-S DTH mode. At least we figure that is what he was trying to explain.

We could not get the whole text of the speech that was shown but he sure mentioned that DTH is the future of broadcasting. Well at least it is nice to know that at least one person in the government understands that DTH is the future.

By the way does he hold any ministerial porfolios still? Given below is a news report that appeared on Lanka Business Online (lbo.lk) website. Anyone who knows about any news regarding CBNsat please post them here as the days progress.

Cable operator CBNSat seeks defence clearance - LBO 29th Aug 2006

August 29, 2006 (LBO) – Cable operator CBNSat has sought Defence Ministry clearance to re-start transmission, as the company steps up its public campaign appealing to authorities to expedite their government approvals.

The local cable company was shut down in June this year and equipment of affiliate company SonicNet Technology sealed by authorities for allegedly operating without the required broadcast licenses. The cable operator sought legal recourse and the courts recently allowed CBN Sat to begin transmission pending approval from relevant government authorities. "We have sent our application to the Defense Ministry. They will file their findings by September 4 and we can submit our appeal by September 12," Dilani Nandasiri Legal Manager CBNSat told LBO. "We have also applied for a license from the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation," she said. Pending official paperwork, CBNSat was allowed to run test transmission. "We can commence transmission within 30 minutes of getting clearance from court," Nandasiri said while declining to disclose losses incurred since the government sealed its equipment early June. The local cable company has been carrying out its transmissions since mid 2005 and has more than 20,000 subscribers throughout the island.

Over 100,000 viewers in Sri Lanka enjoy CBNSat which has a maximum of 28 international TV channels and packages ranging from 500 to 1375 rupees, to suit consumer taste.

Email to Swarnavahini Live @ 8 ........... 29th Aug 2006

The following email was sent to Swarnavahini today regarding the inconveniences done to CBNsat & LBN, its employees and the subscribers.

Dear Sir,

We are TV Radio Sri Lanka and we operate several blogs in this country that cater to the informational needs of the Sri Lankan public

TV & Radio Sri Lanka - http://tvradiosrilanka.blogspot.com/
CBNSat Forum - http://cbnsat.blogspot.com/
Comet Cable Forum - http://cometcable.blogspot.com/
LBN Cable TV Forum - http://lbncable.blogspot.com/

The first blog provides information about the Radio & TV Industry in Sri Lanka and the rest cater to the customers of the relevant Cable tv service providers. We are totally independant of the cable tv operators and any tv station.

Sir, the tv channel run by the EAP Group Swarnavahini was available on the CBNsat platform and was much clearer than the regular transmission.

As you may be well aware CBNsat and LBN were shutdown on false pretext on June 6th 2006.

However it is sad to note that Swarnavahini Live @ 8 is not providing any coverage of the court case involving CBNsat and LBN. Is it due to competition between the EAP Network channels and the channels available on CBNsat or is it because there seems to be politics involved behind the closure of these cable tv providers. We hope Swarnavahini is not avoiding the CBNSat closure news.

There are many subscribers inconvienced by the closure of these cable tv channels CBNsat (20,000 customers) and LBN (10,000 customers) having a total viewership of over 100,000.

Swarnavahini claims to be the most balanced news provider in Sri Lanka but we do not see it living upto it's reputation as being one of them.

We would like to request Swarnavahini to highlight the inconviences suffered by the subscribers of CBNsat as well as LBN and also to urge the authorities to allow CBNsat and LBN to restart operations.

There have been several people living in outstation areas who are unable to receive the Swarnavahini transmissions due to their location and have been enjoying the broadcast over CBNsat.

We hope that due consideration will be given and the plight of the customers, employees (over 300 employees) and the injustices suffered by the companies (LBN and CBNSat) will highlighted on Swarnavahini.

This email will be posted on the CBNsat blog without divulging your email address for all our readers to see.

Thanking you for your time

Admin - CBNsat Forum

For those of you who want to email Swarnavahini and tell them about your inconveniences regarding the closure of CBNsat and LBN please email them on "support@swarnavahini.lk" and indicate them to forward the email to the Managing Director.

Email to MBC News First ........... 28th Aug 2006

The following email was sent to Maharaja Broadcasting Corporation's News First Division today regarding the inconviences done to CBNsat & LBN, its employees and the subscribers.

Dear Sir/Madam,

We have for the first time in Sri Lanka formed a blog that gives information on the TV & Radio Industry in Sri Lanka. The aim is to inform the people and request the government for the introduction of digital tv and radio in sri lanka. As you may know several countries in the world are introducing digital tv and radio and have set deadlines for this purpose. In Sri Lanka there is no such plan.

Anyway we expanded our reach from the general purpose and had specialised blogs for the cable tv companies in sri lanka.

Please find the addresses of the blogs given below

TV & Radio Sri Lanka - http://tvradiosrilanka.blogspot.com/
CBNSat Forum - http://cbnsat.blogspot.com/
Comet Cable Forum - http://cometcable.blogspot.com/
LBN Cable TV Forum - http://lbncable.blogspot.com/

At the moment the blogs assigned to the individual companies such as CBNsat and LBN are concentrating on pressurising the authorities to restore services of these companies. These are independant blogs and not affliated to the companies in any way.

CBNsat has over 20,000 subscribers and LBN has over 10,000 subscribers and the viewship exceeds over 100,000.

These two companies were shutdown by the authorities and upto now they are not giving any consideration to the people who bought the connections from these companies.

People have spent their hard earned money to purchase these connections to watch educational programmes, sports programmes, etc which are not provided by the local tv channels.

News First is one of the most popular news bulletins in Sri Lanka, if not the most popular and Channel One MTV is the only private channel to carry out an English News bulletin.

Why has News First not given proper coverage of the court cases involving CBNsat and LBN. The News First motto is "We Report, You Decide". There has been no "We Report" on the matter regarding CBNsat and LBN. Where is Action TV which highlights the inconviences of the people in this country. Surely LBN and CBNsat customers are also being inconvienced and they are also citizens of Sri Lanka.

CBNsat and LBN are also media companies and it is very sad to note that News First is ignoring it and also the subscribers of these services.

This email that we are sending you will to be published on the LBN and CBNsat blogs.

We request News First to give due coverage and highlight the injustices done to the company, its employees and specially its subscribers in all three languages.

However at the moment it is regrettable that News First is not giving any information regarding the CBNsat and LBN case but we sincerely hope that this will change and News First will highlight the injustices done towards all parties involved in this case.

Thanking you for your time. Awaiting a favourable reply.

Regards
Admin

CBNsat appeals to the President

The following advertisements appeared in yesterdays (Aug 27th) The Sunday Times, The Sunday Leader & Sunday Lankadeepa newspapers. Please forward this to all your contacts.

The fight has to move into Top Gear

Yesterday was a very disappointing day for the customers of CBNsat and also for the employees and management of CBNsat. But it is time to put all that behind us and to continue our fight for justice.

We have posted below the reports from the Daily News, Island and Daily Mirror regarding yesterdays court case and we are also receiving reports that some of our readers have sent emails to the editors of certain newspapers expressing their frustration over yesterdays court ruling.

We would like someone knowledgeable in law to clarify the meaning of the following statement in the Daily Mirror report which states "Objections are to be filed on or before September 4 and the counter affidavit on or before September 12." The main text of the report is posted below this post.

Like we stated previously the motive of these corrupt people is to bring the company into bankruptcy by dragging this case since they cannot get a verdict against CBNsat. But they can have sleepless night because we will not let them do this nor will we let them get away with this. It is very sad indeed to note that a government which calls themselves the representatives of the people of sri lanka are not giving ear to the grievances of the people in this country. We understand that there are more serious issues in this country, but it makes one wonder how they will solve the more serious issues if they cannot solve a small matter like this.

Our hearts go out to the staff of CBNSat but it is high time they also took some sort of action because these corrupt people who go around making people jobless. Staff of CBNsat it is time to start something to make your voice heard.

We wonder how long this Defence Ministry approval will take but by judging the efficiency of our local authorities it will not surprise us if it is not anytime soon. By the way what is the BOI doing about all this? They should also bear the responsibility of what is happening since they approved the application of CBNsat. We wonder whether the new so called world class taxi service will also be sealed after one year under the allegation of carrying terror suspects. Will 3G be banned after one year? Will CDMA phones be banned?

Does Tv Lanka, Srilakvahini have Defence Ministry approval or are they somehow exempt due to political affliations? They probably are. What is the opposition party doing on behalf of CBNsat customers? Nothing at the moment.

People it is time to fire out in all directions. It is time to take a tougher stance on this issue, please email cbnsat@gmail.com declaring your support for this fight to CBNsat Subscribers Unite, lets encourage them since they have been fighting on your behalf. The CBNsat staff have also got to take action, since they are in danger of loosing their jobs.

Today CBNsat has got a magisterial court hearing which is nothing more than a showcase hearing since the judge in the magisterial court is incapable of making any decisions. We wonder how he became a judge in the first place. Please keep us updated on the indecisive statement made at the magistrates court as the day progresses and any information on CBNsat as the days go by.

Defence clearance prior to granting relief : SC - Daily Mirror Aug 24th, 2006

When the Fundamental Rights application filed by SonicNet Technologies (Pvt) Ltd against preventing it from operating its Communiq Broadband Network (CBN Sat) transmission, came up before the Supreme Court yesterday (23), Court was of the view that prior to granting any relief, Defence Clearance had to be obtained and fixed the matter to be supported for leave to proceed and for interim relief for September 18.

The Bench comprised Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva, Justices Saleem Marsoof and Andrew Somawansa.

Counsel for the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) informed Court that the President, acting under his powers, had directed to obtain Defence Clearance from a committee appointed for that purpose, prior to granting license.

He moved for time to inform Court of the progress made by the Defence Clearance. Objections are to be filed on or before September 4 and the counter affidavit on or before September 12.

The Supreme Court had earlier made directions for a compromise settlement on the consent of all parties, to expedite the operation of CBN Sat transmission, with safeguards to monitor it.

Observing that the equipment in issue, had been seized and sealed on June 6 this year, by a Magistrate order, provision had been given to Petitioner SonicNet Technologies (Pvt) Ltd, by the Supreme Court, to inspect and service the equipment and also, if necessary, to carry out test transmissions, due to the sophisticated nature of the equipment

Petitioner cited Chief Inspector U.K. Mahindadasa, SP A.R. Vaidyalankara and SI L. Tilak Bandara, Police Commercial Crimes Unit –II, the IGP and the Attorney General (AG) as Respondents.

The Petitioner states that Communiq Broadband Network (CBN) is an associate company situated at No. 83, George R.De Silva Mawatha, Colombo 13.

The Minister had issued a license on the recommendation of the TRC, for it to operate an External Gateway for International Telecommunications (EGO License) valid up to January 31, 2013.

It alleged that, on June 6, the first three Respondents wrongfully, unlawfully and/or without any right, sealed and seized its equipment and prevented it from using its equipment and operating its services.

The Petitioner pleaded that the Respondents claimed that they sealed and seized the premises under a Magistrate order. Petitioner contends that the Magistrate did not order or authorise to do so, in his order and search warrant.

The Petitioner is asking Court to grant compensation of Rs 100 million and an interim order directing the Respondents to remove the seal and seizure of its equipment and not to obstruct it from using the said premises.

Romesh de Silva P.C. with Sugath Caldera, Riad Ameen and Evaj de Silva, instructed by G.G. Arulpragasam, appeared for the Petitioner. Additional Solicitor General Sathya Hettige with Senior State Counsel Sumathi Dharmawardana appeared for the 1st to 5th Respondents and the AG. D.S. Wijesinghe P.C. appeared for the intervenient petitioner the Minister of Mass Media and Information. Palitha Kumarasinghe P.C. appeared for the TRC.

By S.S. Selvanayagam

Defence Ministry clearance needed for satellite transmission - The Island 24th Aug 2006

Defence Ministry clearance and approval is needed for a satellite tranmsission licence under the SLRC Act Palitha Kumarasinghe P.C told the Supreme Court yesterday when he appeared for the TRC. The respondent in the fundamental rights violation application filed by the Sonic Net Technologies Private Limited, is challenging the seizure of their satellite transmission equipment and the sealing of their premises in Colombo on June 6th, 2006 by the CID.

Mr. Kumarasinghe said that the applications for licences were closed about a month back and the President had directed that thereafter, licences, issued under the SLRC Act should be granted only with Defence Ministry approval.

Counsel said that a committee comprising military personnel will study the issue and a report will be submitted to court, shortly. Any confidential documents will be submitted in a sealed envelope by counsel, for the perusal of Court.

Mr. Sathya Hettige, Additional Solicitor General said that, the Colombo Magistrate had permitted the servicing and the test transmission of the equipment. But general transmission was not allowed yet. He said that the earlier direction of the Supreme Court followed this issue. He wanted the status quo on this issue to remain the same for some time more and only test transmission and servicing should be allowed. The SC granted the request made by Mr. Hettige.

Romesh De Silva P.C who appeared for the petitioner said that his client had been operating for one year and both the SLTC and the TRC had made use of the clients good service. There had been no allegations against his client, whose premises were sealed on June 6th, 2006.

The TRC, the Minister of Media & Mass Communication and the CID will file further papers on the issue of granting satellite licence to Sonic Net Technologies and a few other similar companies.

The petition will be called before the Court again on September 18, 2006. Romesh De Ailva P.C, appeared with Sugath Caldera, instructed by G.G Arulpragasam for the petitioner, Sonic Net Technologies.

The Additional Solicitor General Sathya Hettige, appeared with the State Counsel Sumathi Dharmawardene, for the CID and the Attorney General,

Palitha Kumarasinghe P.C, appeared for the TRC. D.S Wijesinghe P.C, appeared for the Minister of Media and Mass Communication.

The Bench comprised, the Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva, Justice Saleem Marsoof and Justice Andrew Somawansa.

by Chitra Weerarathne

SC allows application to file several issues pertaining to discussions held between Media Minister, CBN SAT - Daily News Aug 24th 2006

The Supreme Court allowed an application by the counsel for the Media Minister to file several issues pertaining to discussions between the Media Minister and the broadcasting company, when the CBN SAT rights case was taken up, yesterday.

President’s Counsel D.S. Wijesinghe made the application on behalf of Media Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa who had discussions with the petitioner company regarding the granting of licences for the Direct to Home (DTH) satellite broadcasting.

The President’s Counsel submitted that during the discussions several important issues had been raised and moved to appraise the Court of them.

President’s Counsel Palitha Kumarasinghe for the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission submitted that the petitioner company should get the clearance and the approval of the Defence Ministry to operate the satellite broadcasting in terms of the Rupavahini Corporation Act.

The Court noted that the petitioner company might as well go through these formalities due to the security situation.

President’s Counsel Romesh de Silva submitted that the petitioner company was suffering heavy losses due to the closure. He submitted that around 20 new competitors were seeking licences; therefore, company was at a risk of losing its viewers.

The Bench comprised Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva PC and Justices Saleem Marsoof PC and Andrew Somawansa.

Petitioner Sonic Net Technologies (Pvt) Ltd. cited four officers attached to the Criminal Investigation Department including Inspector U.L. Mahindadasa and the Attorney General as respondents.

The Petitioner company stated that the respondents CID officers had sealed its office purportedly acting on a search warrant on June 6, in violation of its fundamental rights. The petitioner alleged that around 20,000 of its viewership was not able to watch the channels broadcast by the petitioner consequent to the actions of the respondents.

Romesh de Silva PC with Sugath Caldera instructed by G.G. Arulpragasam appeared for the petitioner.

D.S. Wijesinghe PC appeared for the Media Minister. Palitha Kumarasinghe PC appeared for the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission.

ASG Saththya Hettige PC appeared for the respondents.

The case was put off for September 18.

By Wasantha Ramanayake

Conspiracy Against CBNSat

Conspiracy is the only word to describe what is happening now. The CBNsat Supreme Court hearing is now postponed to September 18th. The postponement came after the Media Ministry says that they have submitted the CBNsat license applications to the Defense Ministry for further considerations. Accordingly till the clearance from the Defense Ministry (MoD) is given CBNsat will not be allowed to operate. We understand from the reports that when the CBNsat lawyers asked for the date in which they can commence operations the Chief Justice has said that due to this being a national security issue a date cannot be given. Therefore on the Sep 18th the Media Ministry has to hand over a document to the courts but this this is not a must and they can always say that the MoD has not given them the report.

The motive behind these moves is obviously to drive the company bankrupt. With the issuances of 3G licenses to mobile phones, etc. We wonder how the DTH technology can be the only threat to national security. Then the CDMA phones and 3G phones, etc and even companies like TV Lanka which is operated by a big time liar is also a threat to national security. It is a crime to victimise a company that has been cleared by the SLRC and put 20,000 plus customers who have spent their hard earned money into this type of a situation. This is indeed the work of people who have connections to the higher ups in the government and there is no doubt about this. Whether the Media Minister himself has an interest in shutting down CBNSat since they seem to be people who are dragging this case further is yet to be seen.

This is going to damage this country's image in terms of foreign investments, etc. These authorities have no consideration about the public who voted them into these positions and they think that they were born into these positions. We cannot let them go on destroying business at this rate.

The customers of CBNsat who are definitely demoralised by this decision must not give up their fight. They will have to take this fight to newer heights and see to it that these corrupt individuals are exposed alongside with their lapdog politicians.

CBNsat is however allowed to service their equipment and carry out test transmission under the supervision of the TRC. CBNsat is scheduled to have the Magistrates court hearing tomorrow and we cannot hope that anything useful will come out of that one because that too has been dragging for a long time.

We would like our readers to keep us updated on any new developments about CBNsat and those of you who would like to contact the Media Ministry can do so on these phone numbers

Mr. W.B.Ganegala
Secretary of the Media Ministry
Tel : 011 2513367 / 2513458
Fax: 011 2513365

Ms. Mallika Joseph
Coordinating secretary to Mr. Ganegala
Tel : 011 2513367
Fax : 011 2513365

Hon. Minister Mr. Anura Priyadarshana Yapa M.P.
Hon. Minister of Mass Media & Information
Tel : 011 2513370 / 2513508
Fax: 011 2513440

The Ball is in your courts Your Honour Chief Justice

Today (23rd Aug) CBNSat will be having their Supreme Court hearing. According to the previous Supreme Court hearing the licensing issues will have to be finalised by today. As of now we are getting reports that the highly efficient Media Ministry has not done anything. This shows the respect that they have for the law in this country. They obviously think that thay are above the law.

We know that the Chief Justice has issued some landmark verdicts and we hope that the same will apply once again. The Media Ministry asks for one month at each court hearing to issue the license and this is nothing but a ploy to drive the company bankrupt.

We demand that even if the license is issued or not today we want CBNSat to be back on air from today. The hanky panky of the Media Ministry must stop. Your Honour Chief Justice we request you to rule that CBNSat should start operations immediately and please take stern action against the officials who are holding ministerial posts since they are holding such posts because the people voted them into power.

Sir, you are the only one who can end this case that has been instigated by corrupt officials.

We would like to request all our readers to keep us posted on the time of todays hearing and also update us on the result of todays hearing.

CBNSat matter before Supreme Court today - The Island 23rd Aug 2006

At a Supreme Court hearing held on August 3rd 2006, the Chief Justice ordered the relevant authorities to take necessary measures to remove the seals from the equipment for maintaining and servicing purposes as well as the commencement of test transmission. This order was carried out by the CID officials on the 8th of August.

The Chief Justice requested the parties concerned to have a meeting to finalise matters they have with regards to the issue of any licenses and conditions. Even though the Media Ministry, through their lawyers, requested the Court to allow them one month to finalise the licences and any conditions the Chief Justice conveyed that this was too long and the time limit was set at two weeks. The 2 weeks limit express on the 17th of August 2006. The authorities will have time to resolve it before the 23rd of August when the case will be called again.

CBNSat is hopeful that the Media Ministry and TRC will finalise the issue of the license or what ever conditions that they may want to impose without any further delay, taking into consideration the plight of around 100,000 viewers who have been disadvantaged form the prolonged closure and constant delays that CBNSat has been subjected to.

CBNSat has stated in Court that they will have no objection to allow and aid the authorities in the supervision and monitoring of their transmissions in order to allay any feared threat to national security. The Chief Justice commented that should any unsuitable content broadcast with regard to any terrorist propaganda, surely at least one of the many subscribers would have brought it to the notice of the relevant authorities, which has not happened to date.

With regards to this issue, officials of The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation and the CID have visited the CBNSat premise and after a thorough inspection have handed in reports to the Courts Representatives of CBNSat Affirm that these reports clearly state that there is no transmission of any terrorist channels and the decoders sold by CBNSat cannot be used to receive any particular terrorist channels, thereby eliminating the concerns over the threat to national security.

The officials at CBNSat have gone a step further and agreed to comply with any regulations the necessary authorities would want them to adhere to Through this they hope to have a much better understanding with the authorities that would cause less confusion among the authorities in the future.

Press Release appears on Newspapers

The CBNSat Press Release has appeared in several newspapers like The Sunday Times and The Nation. There are other newspapers who will be publishing this press release within the next few days, according to informed sources.

The Sunday Times published the article under the heading "Media ministry ignoring CJ orders" and The Nation gave a summary of the press briefing.

We demand that the authorities consider the plight of the subscribers and also respect the decision of the Chief Justice and allow CBNSat to operate from Wednesday 23rd Aug.

CBNSat Subscribers Unite is doing a great job and we really appreciate their efforts to fight for the rights of CBNSat Subscribers.

CBNSat Subscribers Unite Press Release (Sinhala)

The Sinhala Language version of the Press Release from CBNSat Subscribers Unite is given above. The Press Release was made in English and Sinhala. Please forward this to all your contacts.

CBNSat Subscribers Unite Press Release (English)

The English Language version of the Press Release from CBNSat Subscribers Unite is given above. The Press Release was made in English and Sinhala. Please forward this to all your contacts.

Call and make yourself heard

You did not read the heading wrong. It is time for the CBNSat subscribers to make their voice heard and put pressure on the authorities as individuals. You did it once using letters and now it is time to use your phones. The last time Mr. W.B. Ganegala Secretary of the Media Ministry spoke to CBNSat Subscribers Unite he said that he was waiting for the Court ruling on the CBNSat matter and he cannot do anything before the ruling is given.

At the Supreme Court on Aug 3rd the Chief Justice gave a ruling to issue licenses and finalise everything before 23rd Aug but at the Magistrates Court on Aug 15th the lawyers representing the Media Ministry ask for a further one month. At every court hearing they ask for one month to draft regulations. We have to pressurise them to act fast and not to delay this matter any further. All of the other Cable TV companies are functioning except for CBNSat and LBN and this is grossly unfair.

CBNSat Subscribers Unite have addressed a letter to H.E. The President, Media Minister and the Media Secretary (please read post below) but your phone calls to them will add to the pressure that is being exerted. We would request all the callers to get the above points across in a polite manner and request the Media Ministry to facilitate whatever the ministry can do to execute the Supreme Court order. Please post the result of your phone conversation with the authorities as a comment if possible.

Given below are the phone numbers of the concerned authorities

Mr. W.B.Ganegala
Secretary of the Media Ministry
Tel : 011 2513367 / 2513458
Fax: 011 2513365

Ms. Mallika Joseph
Coordinating secretary to Mr. Ganegala
Tel : 011 2513367
Fax : 011 2513365

Hon. Minister Mr. Anura Priyadarshana Yapa M.P.
Hon. Minister of Mass Media & Information
Tel : 011 2513370 / 2513508
Fax: 011 2513440

Letter to the authorities from CBNSat Subscribers Unite Group

After the Supreme Court Verdict the CBNSat Customers have given ample time for the authorities to get CBNsat back on air. But it seems that they are not at all interested in the subscribers of CBNSat. Therefore a decision has been taken by the CBNSat Subscriber Unite Group, and a letter has been sent to His Excellency the President, Hon. Minister of Mass Media and Information and Media Secretary of the Ministry of Mass Media and Information. Given below is a copy of the letter.

16th August 2006

To: Mr. W. B. Ganegala,
Hon Secretary,
Ministry of Mass Media and Information,
No. 163,
Kirulapone Mawatha,
Polhengoda,
Colombo 05.

Cc: His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksha Esq.,
Hon. President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Hon. Minister Mr. Anura Priyadharshana Yapa
Minister of Mass Media and Information

PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF THE CBNSat SUBSCRIBERS

Dear Sirs,

We are writing to you as inconvenienced subscribers of CBNSat DTH Satellite TV service. It’s more than 2 months since the shutting down of CBNSat on 6th June 2006, letting down more than 20,000 subscribers. (More than 100,000 viewers).

We would like to bring to your notice that the welfare of the subscribers of CBNSat has been disregarded by all relevant parties up to date. The authorities showed no concern about the consumer whatsoever at the time of shutting down of the CBNSat services and afterwards.

CBNSat was by no means an underground operation. It is a BOI approved enterprise and the Head of TRC and then Media Minister Mr. Mangala Samaraweera endorsed the operations at the launch. It was advertised and featured on the state newspapers and even the state television channels were using CBNSat platform to transmit their programs to remote locations where they couldn’t reach by a terrestrial broadcast.

Most of the CBNSat subscribers are from remote areas where the signal quality of the local terrestrial TV channels is very poor. All of us have spent our hard earned money on CBNSat equipment to get Information, entertainment and access quality educational programs for our children. Most of the rural subscribers have bought this system under the easy payment scheme because they have no other way of accessing local television programs and quality international infotainment channels.

Through CBNSat these remote subscribers have been watching the local TV channels including the state channels Rupavahini, Channel EYE and ITN with the best level of picture / sound quality which they’ve been missing for all these years. With the sudden shutdown of CBNSat they’ve been deprived of access to information.

We, the subscribers of CBNSat have invested in a legitimate product endorsed by the government authorities such as BOI and TRC and by shutting them down after almost a year of operation; we believe that our rights as consumers have been grossly violated.

In a fast moving, rapidly changing world, it's vital for a nation be provided with all means of obtaining information, in order to be competitive with the rest of the world. Shutting down of CBNSat sends a negative message to prospective investors who wish to come to Sri Lanka and invest in this type of high-tech business ventures. So dragging this issue further will not only put us, the subscribers into utter inconvenience but as a country the image of Sri Lanka will further go down.

This is contrary to the Governments’ initiative to develop Sri Lanka as the regional center of the Asian IT dissemination networks. (Page 69, Mahinda Chinthana – English Version)

We, the subscribers of CBNSat have waited patiently for more than 2 months for the justice done to us as law abiding citizens of the country. But day by day what we see is that the authorities are not caring about protecting our rights.

We got to understand that Hon. Chief Justice have given a Supreme Court ruling on the 3rd August 2006 to the authorities to finalize the licensing issues by the 23rd August 2006 without putting its’ subscribers to further inconvenience. But according to media reports today the Media Ministry have again asked for another month yesterday (15th August 2006) to bring in the new regulations. It is noted by us that the lawyers of the Media ministry is keeping on asking for 1 month at all court proceedings. We as law abiding citizens wonder how the other Cable and Satellite TV operators are serving their subscribers without this new license and only CBNSat and LBN Cable is shut and we the subscribers of the said services are discriminated and out of service.

So while thanking you for the positive steps you have taken on bringing this area under government regulation, We urge the Ministry of Mass Media and Information to let CBNSat to operate at least to the existing subscriber base till the new regulations and licensing scheme becomes active.

Thank you and wish you success in all your noble efforts in serving our country.

Secretary
“CBNSat Subscriber Unite”
Tel : 0777 XXXXXX:
EMail cbnsat@gmail.com

Visit Online petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/cbnsat/

How long does it take.....

During yesterdays Magistrates Court hearing there have been no charges brought against CBNSat according to the CBNSat Subscriber Unite Group. In todays Daily Mirror it says that "State Counsel Gihan Kultunga appearing for the CID moved a date to file charges against the TV networks." This we assume are to bring charges against the TV networks for broadcasting without a license. But this license and regulation does not exist.

CBNSat had given the reply saying "Counsel for CBNSat M.L.M Ameen PC said they has obtained permission from the Supreme Court to run test transmissions. On the last date of hearings of their case in the Supreme Court there was a proposal for a settlement and the CID need not file action against them as the matter would be settled." Please read post below for the report in The Daily Mirror.

Therefore accordingly we can be assured that the terrorist link charges have been dropped and hopefully no self proclaimed intelluctual will try anything fancy. All eyes will be on the Supreme Court on Aug 23rd as they take up the case. Since the Chief Justice over ruled the Media Ministry's request for a one month time period for the issuance of a license at the Supreme Court hearing on Aug 3rd. They approach the Magistrate's Court and also ask for an one month time period. What were they doing from Aug 3rd upto yesterday? The two week time period given by the Supreme Court will end on Aug 17th but they have time till the Supreme Court hearing on Aug 23rd.

We sincerely hope that the Chief Justice will take firm action against these people who do not know the definition of two weeks and would see an end to this court battle by issuing a court order or whatever is required, to allow CBNSat to resume transmissions temporarily until the license is issued. Your Honour Chief Justice we thank you for the decisions that you have given upto now, but it is our firm belief that you will have to intervene to sort this out permanently. The lower court of Sri Lanka is on its way to obtain a bad reputation.

We would like all our fellow readers to keep us updated on the situation regarding CBNSat as the days progress and also regarding any test transmission.

TV Station Licences to be freely issued : Media Ministry - Daily Mirror 16th Aug 2006

Licence to run TV stations would be issued freely to anybody once the draft regulations come into operation, counsel for the Media Ministry, Hemaka Warnakulasuriya told the Additional Magistrate of Colombo yesterday.

He said that once the regulations were drafted Cable TV operators would have to adhere to the regulations. The drafting of regulations would take about another month and requested court to keep the cases pending until such time.

The counsel for SatNet, Anujaya Premaratne said that to enforce rules and regulations in retrospect was bad and those who have already obtained licenses should be allowed to continue with their licenses without calling for new applications from them.

Counsel for LBN said that the Supreme Court had allowed CBNSat to run test transmissions and to operate their equipment without telecasting the programmes. On those grounds, they too made an application to the magistrate to operate test transmissions. Their application was granted and they will start test transmissions on Thursdays.

State Counsel Gihan Kultunga appearing for the CID moved a date to file charges against the TV networks. Counsel for CBNSat M.L.M Ameen PC said they has obtained permission from the Supreme Court to run test transmissions. On the last date of hearings of their case in the Supreme Court there was a proposal for a settlement and the CID need not file action against them as the matter would be settled.

He also said that as the Supreme Court inquiry was fixed for August 23, the case could be called on August 24 to ascertain the progress. The case was put off for August 24.

By T. Farook Thajudeen

NO CHARGES AGAINST CBNSat

The magistrate's court was informed by the SLRC, CID and TRC that there were no charges whatsoever against CBNsat.TRC has informed that the new license of CBNSat is being processed and issued in future, since the deadline for submission of applications has been extended to 15.09.06. The media ministry has requested one month to pass the legislation in the parliament, Whereas the supreme court order issued has rejected the one month request and ordered a settlement within 2 weeks at the last SC hearing, Hence the lawyers of CBNSat has requested the next hearing for 24.08.2006 in order to produce the judgment of the supreme court scheduled for 23.08.2006 and which is binding and cannot be overruled by the magistrates courts.

CBNSat has not argued the case aggressively today as the order has been issued by the Supreme Court to resolve the matter within two weeks and the one month request on the previous proceedings were rejected.

CBNSat Subscriber Unite.