Kristal
The history of Kristal-Astro begins with the establishment of Kristal (Jawi: کریستل تیۏي) which is a pay television network owned by DataStream Technology Sdn Bhd (DST Sdn Bhd) and the first television network in Brunei. Kristal was granted a license to provide radio and television broadcasting services on 23 November 1998 and began its services on 2 January 1999 with an offer of 14 television channels to customers nationwide.[7][8]
Before the introduction of Kristal, the people of Brunei watched television shows through the STAR TV network for free for several years. With the launch of Kristal, Bruneians were no longer be able to watch the channels for free and some television channels have had their broadcasts cut off, among them MTV, Channel V, Phoenix and Zee Cinema. Kristal did not provide any explanation regarding the cutting of the channels involved, but the public believed that the action was due to pressure from the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Brunei.
At the beginning of 1999, the broadcasting of the MTV channel, which was popular among the youth of Brunei, was stopped. Following this incident, letters of complaint were sent to the Borneo Bulletin in January and February. The ministry and the Bruneian authorities expressed concern about the channel's inappropriate content. The Brunei government later agreed to allow the broadcasting of MTV while other shows were blocked.[9]
On 1 February, the Brunei government declared ASTRO's channels from Malaysia reached through Kristal illegal because Astro was not granted a license to broadcast in Brunei. Hundreds of people currently subscribing to Astro are said to have broken the law and could be fined Br$40,000 or imprisoned for three years.
However, on 1 March, the Brunei government declared that ASTRO's broadcasts had been licensed and approved to broadcast in Brunei legally. Even so, the owner of the satellite dish must make a payment of Br$360 per year to the government in addition to the subscription fee of the broadcaster involved.
