List Of Free To Air Satellite Channels In Uganda
Uganda has an estimated 6-7 million TV sets. If we estimate each household owning a Television to have an estimate of 5 people living together, that’s about 30 million Television viewers.
Of the 6-7 million TV sets, only about 300,000 are hooked to Pay TV stations according to the latest Stats from Uganda Communication Commission(UCC). That’s a mere 5% Television sets currently able to receive digital TV services. That means the remaining 95% are watching TV with Free-to-air (FTA) channels as opposed to subscription-based Pay-per-view(PPV) channels.
Free-to-air (FTA) channels
But what are Free-to-air (FTA) channels? These are TV (and radio) channels that are broadcasted in clear unencrypted format. In other words, you don’t need special equipment requiring subscription model in order to view or listen to the broadcasted content. Just your TV and an antennae for the case of analogue TV or a Free-to-air decoder for Digital TV.
Pay-per-view (PPV) channels
Pay-per-view (PPV) channels are entirely the opposite of FTA channels. PPV channels are encrypted by Pay TV providers who supply their customers with special decoding equipment or decoders that unscramble the encrypted TV signals. This usually requires subscribers to pay a monthly subscription fee to Pay TV provider before they can view the content.
Digital Pay TV Providers in Uganda
Currently there are 5 operational Digital Pay TV providers in Uganda and they include Multichoice’s satellite TV service DSTV Uganda and its Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) cousin GoTV Uganda. DSTV requires viewers to have a satellite Dish and a decoder while Go TV only expects users to have a decoder to watch TV.
Startimes Uganda has a similar model.
They have StarSat which is their satellite service and a Startimes DTT service which only needs a decoder. The other providers are Zuku and AzamTV Uganda which are both digital satellite TV providers.
Lastly, Simba TV, a merger between Kampala Siti Cable Ltd (KSCL) and TVNXT, provides not just digital TV services but also Internet.
Pay TV providers in Uganda also offer Free-to-air channels. However, they are only active when your subscription hasn’t expired. Should your subscription expire, you won’t be able to watch them apart from UBC.
List of Free-to-air channels in Uganda
Free-to-air channels include UBC, WBS, NTV, NBS, Lighthouse TV, Record TV, Capital, Bukedde TV, BTN TV, Bunyoro TV, EATV, Family TV, Top TV, Kakira Sugar TV, Channel 44, Top TV, Urban TV, Northern TV, and TV WA. These channels will continue to be free even after the migration from analogue to digital broadcasting. But you’ll need a Free-to-air decoder to access them if you are not subscribed to any of the Pay TV providers.
List of Free-to-air decoder vendors in Uganda
UCC has licensed a number of companies to sell certified digital DVB-T2 decoders or Set-top-boxes to the public. They include Trans-African Container Transport, Syscorp International, Brivid, Icomsys Africa and World Technologies among others. See the table below for the entire list.
SINKA DIGITAL LTD Maendeleo House
6th Floor Suite
P.O Box 15372-00100
Nairobi
0772331586
pmugabe1@gmail.com FLAME-SAT
MA STORES
Ma Stores
Yamaha Centre
Plot 34, Luwuum Street,
Kampala, Uganda
0772440075
0772433682
mks@yahoo.com TECHNOSAT
KONKA ELECTRONICS
Konka Electronics
Forest Mall
P.O Box 35696
Kampala, Uganda
0777649830 KONKA
GMAX ELECTRONICS LTD
GMAX Electronics Ltd
P.O. 73633, Kampala
Energy center Nakasero market street shop no. L2-22
Tel: +256772910843
mutumbahassan@yahoo.com STARGOLD
GMAX ELECTRONICS LTD
GMAX Electronics Ltd
P.O. 73633, Kampala
Energy center Nakasero market street shop no. L2-22
Tel: +256772910843
mutumbahassan@yahoo.com GOLDMAX
GMAX ELECTRONICS LTD
GMAX Electronics Ltd
P.O. 73633, Kampala
Energy center Nakasero market street shop no. L2-22
Tel: +256772910843
mutumbahassan@yahoo.com GMAX
M.K. MUHUMBU IMPORTERS M.K. MUHUMBU IMPORTERS
Plot 39, Luwum Street
P.O. Box 8320, Kampala
+256 414 251066
+256 702 406518 ARKIE STAR
TROPICAL BUSINESS LINKS
Tropical Business Links
P.O BOX 3478 KAMPALA
0758001806
0723640723 SONAR
TROPICAL BUSINESS LINKS
Tropical Business Links
P.O BOX 3478 KAMPALA
0758001806
0723640723 NANO
ATTIC COMPANY LTD
Royal Plaza, shop 15 Luwum street, Kampala-Uganda
+256 772 404256
+256 759 498 765 NANO
Price of Free-to-air decoder in Uganda
Widestar Digital (U) Ltd, one of the approved vendors has Free-to-air decoders going for a price of UGX 165,000 and includes outdoor antenna. Brivid Uganda Ltd located at Oasis Mall Basement is selling their decoders at a slightly higher price of Ugx 180,000.
Startimes Light decoder also gives you access to Free-to-air channels and goes for a price of only UGX 80,000. Those who get the Light decoder will have to pay an additional UGX 41,500 which entitles them to up to 7 months of digital TV on the Nova bouquet or package. However, should their subscription expire, they can still access Free-to-air channels.