The Samoa Government digital television channel is back on air but without programming.
Samoa Observer reports the channel was turned off by the owner of the digital broadcasting platform, Samoa Digital Company Limited, who had agreed to allow the channel to be used for disseminating information for the coronavirus pandemic free of charge.
Commercial television stations pay up to $35,000 tālā a month to utilize the digital service which gives them countrywide coverage.
The SDCL owners turned off the government channel after the COVID-19 State of Emergency order was lifted.
However the government did not like the action by SDCL and the Office of the Regulator warned the company to turn the channel back on and “honor clause 23 of their license.”
The company was also told not to switch off the channel again until the Cabinet determined how the channel will be used in the future.
The Regulator, Lematua Gisa Fuatai Purcell, cited important matters discussed in Parliament, and the Government being restricted from performing its duties of accountability and transparency to the people, as reasons why the service should be restored.
The government TV channel is managed by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology which has been using the digital platform free of charge since its establishment.
It cannot broadcast commercial programming just government informational programs.
