(Ecofin Agency) - In Mali, Excel TV, the pay-TV operator specialized in the retransmission of digital images has been suspended on February 11^th on order of Minister of digital economy, Information and Telecommunication, Choguel Maiga.

For some time now, the minister has contested the agreement between Excel TV and Office de Radiodiffusion Television du Mali (Ortm). Under this agreement, Excel TV has the rights to broadcast by leasing antenna. Clearly put, the operator exploits two frequencies provided by Ortm. It’s based on this agreement that Excel TV set shop in Mali for the reception of channels it broadcasts. In fact, it sells a digital decoder and a parabolic antenna.

“The minister has decided, with no legal decision, to disconnect us from the Kati transmitter, this despite the more than valid agreement we have with Ortm, just like other broadcasters in Mali,” Ousmane Kissima Doukara, director general of Excel Communication which owns Excel TV.

First, Minister Choguel Maiga reached out to the court to denounce the agreement between Excel TV and Ortm. However, the law institution said the case was beyond its jurisdiction and should be relayed to the trade court. Thus, the minister went no further, which is why Excel TV denounces that its suspension has no legal background.

Ousmane Kissima Doukara hence said “Minister Choguel was being manipulated by competition, and the highest-bidder logic seemed to be applied here”. The director might have been pointing at Canal+.