Multi-Choice Malawi spends K3.2 bn on towers in pursuit of digital migration

Multi-choice Malawi, the sole provider of Go-TV has spent about K3.2 billion on four towers the company has constructed in three major cities of Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu.

Sales and Marketing Manager for Multi-Choice Malawi, Chimwemwe Nyirenda, disclosed this to reporters in Mzuzu ahead of the launch of Go-TV in Mzuzu on Saturday at Mzuzu Stadium.

He said each tower or transmitter has cost the company around K800 million in order to send signals to decoders and it does not use satellite dishes.

“In Blantyre we have two towers; both Lilongwe and Mzuzu have one. The Mzuzu tower is able to transmit at a distance of 60 Kilometers,” he said.

Nyirenda said his company has invested this much to effectively contribute to the country’s digital migration by offering affordable digital television to Malawians.

“Watching television in the near future will be through decoders, so we want everybody to have the service before the due date of the [digital] migration,” he said, adding that countries agreed in the 2006 Geneva Conference that all countries by 17th June 2015 should switch from analogue to digital technology.

The Sales and Marketing Manager said GoTV has got 10 local channels which include MBC, Times, Hope, Luso, Timveni, ZBS and Joy Television among others.

He said that was why Multi-Choice is bringing GoTV to the residents of Mzuzu to give them a chance to watch local and international channels at a low cost.

Nyirenda said to access GoTV, customers need to purchase a decoder and its antenna which is currently selling at a special promotion price of nearly K17, 000 with no satellite dish required.

The advantage of using this model is that it does not use a satellite dish which means there is zero installation cost to clients, unlike other paying TVs.

Meanwhile, Nyirenda has said Multi-Choice Malawi is overwhelmed with the response from Mzuzu residents seen from big numbers of people flocking to purchase the decoders.

The television now covers Blantyre and Lilongwe and their respective surrounding areas. In Mzuzu it will be officially launched on Saturday, the 11th April, 2015.

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