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Thousands of TV viewers around the country have been left with blank screens as telecommunication companies, under government instructions, stamp down on customers getting paid-for programmes on the cheap.
Residents have been able to access fee-charging satellite networks without paying monthly subscriptions by connecting a Dreambox linked to their television set, via the internet.
A directive was issued to all Bahrain Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and was implemented last Thursday.
"Batelco is obliged to comply with the TRA direction, which has been ordered by the Ministry of Culture and Information, responsible for regulation of internet content. Batelco is a law-abiding corporation and is obliged to comply with the laws of the kingdom," said Batelco Group general manager media & government relations, Ahmed Al Janahi.
"We therefore must oblige with this request to block the DYN DNS service, even though we believe it will cause inconvenience to thousands of our customers."
There have been mixed reactions from Dreambox owners with the majority unhappy about the move, with one Dreambox devotee saying: "This is very disappointing. The cost of normal satellite rental here can run to around BD25 a month and that is a lot to pay, especially as most of the time there are only a few channels that people want to watch but, to do so, they have to pay for all the channels in the package, even if most are never used."
"It doesn't seem logical," said another user. "We're allowed to download free music from the internet and watch free video downloads on YouTube, so why should the Dreambox be any different? What are the satellite companies worried about?"
However, one less than satisfied former Dreambox user said: "I don't think it's any big loss, I used to use Dreambox but I was never able to watch with any regularity as the programmes were often interrupted in the middle when the connection was suddenly lost and I used to have to pay someone to come and fix the problem. I was throwing good money after bad so decided it was much easier to just subscribe to a satellite provider."
And at the end of the day, like it or not, the use of the Dreambox is illegal in Bahrain and as such the government and the TRA are entirely within their rights to enforce the law.
"Dreamboxes are illegal boxes giving illegal access to Orbit Showtime channels," says Orbit Showtime president and CEO, Marc-Antoine d'Halluin.
"It is stealing intellectual property rights and the Middle East is now fast joining the markets defending intellectual property rights holders which will enable the development of a local movie and TV production industry, a much-needed dimension of the region's development. We are thankful to the local authorities to have taken these fundamental anti-piracy actions."
Dreambox suppliers, often small independent stores near villages, say they will counteract the blocking measures taken and it will be 'business as normal' shortly. "We apologiose for the interuption in programming," one said.
