On Monday, 5th December, 2016, Zuku and Azuri Technologies launched a complete pay-as-you-go satellite TV package. Zuku is a home entertainment satellite provider while on the other hand Azuri Technologies is a UK-based provider of PayGo solar home systems. This initiative is targeted to individuals leaving off the energy grid system. The following is what you will get with the pay-as-you-go satellite TV package:
- Home solar power
- A 24-inch television set
- Satellite dish
- Zuku Smart+ entertainment
The Zuku+ entertainment promises to offer you 48 television and 21 radio channels. The AzuriTV system guarantees up to five hours of normal viewing per day. The home solar power system provides four bright home lights, mobile phone charging and a rechargeable portable radio.
Subscribing to this package will set you back Ksh.149 per day for two years. This translates to approximately Ksh.108,770 at the end of it all. That is roughly the amount you will have parted with once you are done with your monthly payments after the two year period. It is only after the two years of payment that the customer will take full ownership of the equipment. Then after the customer will continue to pay only for the satellite service.
As of now the service is only available in selected regions of Central Kenya. It is the ambition of the partners to roll out the service progressively nationwide in 2017. They are focused on the over 5 million households without electricity in the Kenyan market.
The following are part of the remarks from Azuri Technologies CEO during the launch in the area of Mwea, Kenya:
“Solar power has made huge strides. Just a few years ago, a small solar light was new technology. Today we are providing a TV and service provision that would not look out of place in any major city in the world.”
-Azuri Technologies CEO, Simon Bransfield-Garth
He said the rural off-grid consumers face three key hurdles to being able to watch TV:
- Access to power
- Service coverage
- High up front cost of installation
According to him, AzuriTV addresses all three, providing affordable TV, anytime anywhere.
“This is a very exciting opportunity we are giving our customers and viewers to have more choices and enjoy the experience to watch over 40 Zuku TV channels that offers high-quality and affordable family entertainment with emphasis on the local content.”
-Zuku Satellite TV CEO, Jay Chudasama
