Dear Editor,
I would like to thank Stabroek TV for their prompt response to my letter dated February 12 regarding the lack of DirecTV in the Rupununi. However I still am not entirely satisfied with the response given.
In their response Stabroek TV said that in order to get the DirecTV signal in the Rupununi one has to have a twenty foot dish (like the ones the TV stations use) and that the subscriber in Karasabai has been able to get a reception because he has a twenty foot dish.
Firstly the subscriber at Karasabai does not have a twenty foot dish; I have seen the dish and talked to the subscriber personally. The dish is the normal sized DirecTV dish that can be found on houses in Georgetown and is approximately four feet in diameter or thereabouts. Second-ly commonsense should indicate that it would be virtually impossible for someone from a remote village in the Rupununi to have in his possession a twenty foot dish due to obvious cost and operational factors. So Stabroek TV should have a review of the size of dish issued to the subscriber in Karasabai.
In closing I would like to ask Stabroek TV if their technicians have ever visited the Rupununi to do tests to determine signal strength and quality of reception, and if this was done, which were the locations visited and the outcome of these tests.
In my opinion it would be misleading to generalize the entire Rupununi as being unable to receive a DirecTV signal unless there is clearly documented evidence to suggest otherwise.
Yours faithfully,
JP Abraham
Editor’s note
1. With respect to the Karasabai dish, we were informed by Stabroek TV that the customer in that location has had DirecTV for quite some time. It was installed before the current technicians started to work for the company and the information they provided is what had been relayed to them by their predecessors. It is possible that there has been some miscommunication along the line, or alternatively, that the customer at an earlier stage did have a larger second hand dish, for example, and that this had to be replaced. Whatever the case, the customer does complain to Georgetown about a weak signal from time to time.
2. As far as a signal in the Rupununi is concerned, we are told by Stabroek TV that attempts have been made to install the system at Aishalton and Lethem, but they failed because these locations were too close to Brazil and the interference from there prevented any kind of reception. In short, there is no signal in areas close to the Brazil border.
The technicians have said they do not know what kind of signal there would be in Annai, but Stabroek TV is prepared to allow Mr Abraham to subscribe, and an attempt will be made to set up the system at his Annai home. If the signal is not acceptable, then his money would be refunded. If he would like to try this, then he is invited to contact the Stabroek TV office in Georgetown.
