It’s 2020 and Pakistan hasn’t received its own DTH service till yet.

Well, that’s a pity.

Countries like INDIA and Sri Lanka already have their DTH services operational from a long time

But that’s not a thing to worry anymore because Pakistan’s own DTH service is just around the corner.

This post is gonna be a detailed review about DTH and DTH in Pakistan so buckle up as its gonna be a long ride.

What is DTH

DTH stands for “Direct To Home”. This service provides you with your favorite TV channel without much struggle. Unlike the traditional “Cable TV system”, It doesn’t have a web of wires coming to your home.

The DTH companies use satellites to directly send the signals to the subscriber’s TV.

In this system, A dish is installed at your roof or balcony or any open place allowing it to receive signals from the satellite.

A Set-Top Box is connected to your receivers to convert the satellite signals to your favorite channel.

AAAnd there you go. you have your entertainment source ready.

DTH Vs Other

There are many other services available out there to watch your favorite channels like IPTV and Cable systems.

But why to choose DTH over others, let me tell you by comparison.

DTH Vs IPTV

DTH is direct to home service and let me tell you that unlike IPTV, it doesn’t need an internet connection.

So that means you will not have to pay for an internet connection.

Another thing is that IPTV buffers while DTH is as smooth as silk.

I guess you know the winner.

DTH Vs Cable

Who doesn’t know about Cable?

Most of the consumers in Pakistan relies on Cable TV but the problem is that it isn’t everywhere.

The Cable System is mostly in big cities and towns leaving rural areas unattended.

This is the part where DTH comes in. Because of its portability, you can even watch TV on an erupting volcano JK!

While talking about TV channels, Channel quality is the biggest aspect while comparing. And trust me Cable TV comes nowhere near to what DTH provides.

Obviously there are some cable providers who provide HD service but they are very few.

In DTH, subscriber has a wide range of options of what he wants to do, whether he wants to record a channel or set an EPG.

But cable doesn’t provide these luxuries.

So again DTH is the winner.

I hope you understand the basics of DTH, so let’s dive into the other part of the post.

Pakistan DTH

After reading all the perks of DTH, You might be wondering why the heck Pakistan has no DTH provider.

Well, that is because nobody ever made much emphasis on this topic.

In the year 2001-02, people were already discussing DTH for Pakistan and there was also an Indian company “Dish TV” operating in Pakistan.

At that time some Private channels also aired on

Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority was established in March 2002.

The fuss of Pakistan DTH started when PEMRA announced the auction for the license of DTH in 2003.

The Cable operators went nuts and started to protest against the auction and hence auction delayed.

This pretty much kept on going every time the PEMRA announced the auctions.

Meanwhile Indian DTH providers like “Dish TV” make their ground stronger in Pakistan.

Some Pakistani subscribed to their packages while others used illegal methods like CCCAM or DSCAM.

Pakistan DTH Auction

Well all this drama came to an end when PEMRA held a successful DTH auction in 2016

A total of 11 private and semi-private companies attended this auction.

The companies which attended the biddings are

1. Orient Electronics Lahore

2. Mag Entertainment Lahore

3. Skyflix Islamabad

4. Smartimes Communications Islamabad

5. Sardar Builders Islamabad

6. Smart Sky Islamabad

7. Parus Media and Broadcast Islamabad

8. NayaTel Islamabad

9. Shahzad Sky Islamabad

10. HB DTH Islamabad

11. IQ Communications Karachi

Out of all these companies, only 3 made it to the list.

The DTH licenses were awarded to

• • MAG Entertainment for Rs. 4.91 Billion
  • Shahzad Sky for Rs. 4.90 Billion
  • Star Time for Rs. 4.89 Billion.

Pakistan DTH Service Provider Companies:

As you have read above, there were three companies that successfully won the auction of the first-ever Pakistan DTH service providers. The companies are:

• Mag Entertainment DTH
• Shahzad Sky
• StarTime TV

Recently the Supreme Court of Pakistan forces PEMRA to follow the instructions given during the DTH Pakistan Auction and let the companies start their services.

Pakistan DTH Launch Date:

Unlike cable, launching DTH company doesn’t require the only installation of cables pole to a pole but it’s a combination of different things which make it work.

The DTH system needs a lot of groundwork to be done. DTH system consists of

• DTH Set Top Box
• DTH Satellite
• DTH Satellite Encryption

And last but not least, the biggest hurdle in the launch of DTH is the Cable Operators.

So any DTH company will work when all of these things settle up.

DTH system includes Set-Top Boxes at the viewer’s side in order to watch the stream at the tv. But none of DTH company who has won the license started or ordered to manufacture the STB till now.

PEMRA has also announced that it will also start to make DTH box locally to stop the smuggling of illegal Indian DTH boxes.

DTH to stream channels need some satellite and we haven’t seen any DTH company signing the contract with satellite owners. So we shouldn’t expect DTH to launch in the near future.

If everything is somehow settled, then they would have to do something to prevent FTA users to watch their service freely and that something is Satellite Encryption. There are many Satellite encryption methods available in the market such as

• CONAX
• IRDETO
• IRDETO2

The DTH company will sign the contract with Satellite security companies and then will get the channels encrypted. It’s a quite long process TBH.

We cannot forget the cable operator too. Cable operators have always been a hurdle in the way of DTH launching. So PEMRA has to tackle that smartly.

Pakistan DTH Price:

The most expected price list would be Rs 500 per month for the base package.

While with mega Sports + Entertainment + Infotainment Package with all channels on would cost around Rs.1,500-2,000. The initial installation and Box price could be minimum Rs.10,000.

Pakistan DTH Channels List 2019 -2020:

The DTH providers which have won the license in auctions can pick up the channels from the list below of national and international channels.

The DTH providers are more likely to make packages of selective channels so viewers can choose according to their needs.

1- Family Entertainment Channels

2- News Channels

3- Sports Channels

4- Religious Channels

1. ARY QTV URDU.
2. Peace TV English.
3. Huda TV.

5- English News Channels on Pakistan DTH:

6- Infotainment / Music/ Food/ Kids Channels on DTH Pakistan:

The list doesn’t end here but you will be amazed to know some more channels are launching soon in Pakistan one by one such as

1. PTV Cricket HD 
2. TEN Sports 2 HD 
3. BOL Sports HD
4. Fight Sports 
5. Golf One 

Pakistan DTH Service Satellite

As you now know that DTH service requires a satellite to transmit signals.

So the 3 companies which have won the DTH auction are now gonna need to sign a contract with any satellite so they can get their channels in.

None of the 3 companies have made confirmed announcements about their satellites.

In May 2019 Shahzad Sky was doing some testing on PAKSAT 38E Ku-band. So it can be said that they are gonna use Paksat KU as their satellite.

Not so long ago, an agreement was signed between Pakistan and China for the launch of a new Satellite called the Pakdth MM1 at 38.2° East.

So we should wait a little bit and see how things turn out to be.

Bottom Line

It’s great that the first step has been taken and licenses are auctioned but there is a lot of work to be done.

So let’s wait and find out what happens next.

If you have any question then comment below.