Dhiraagu drops lawsuit against BroadCom

Dhiraagu has dropped the lawsuit it filed against Maldives Broadcasting Commission (BroadCom) over its refusal to renew the rebroadcasting license for DhiraaguTV.

BroadCom denied the application for renewal of DhiraaguTV license citing an amendment it made to rebroadcasting regulations last year, which bars companies except for those 100 percent locally owned from being granted rebroadcasting license.

Dhiraagu’s majority shareholder is the Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco).

Dhiraagu sued BroadCom citing the amendment was in violation of Article 28 of Broadcasting Act.

The company also argued that they had applied for license renewal within the legally mandated timeframe.

Dhiraagu filed a motion with the Civil Court to withdraw the lawsuit on Wednesday. The court dismissed the case as per the company’s request the same day.

After seven years of service, DhiraaguTV service will be discontinued effective January 29.

SSNET, which has license to provide nationwide cable TV service in Maldives, has leased Dhiraagu’s IPTV and OTT networks, and will begin operations on January 30.

Existing DhiraaguTV customers do not need to pay an additional fee for make the switch to SSNET, and can continue to use their set-top box.

Additional information regarding the service can be clarified by calling SSNET’s call center at 1633.