9 Challenges Faced When Using IPTV to Watch TV Contents in Underdeveloped Countries

This post was last updated on September 10th, 2020 at 05:16 pm

The categorizing of countries into underdeveloped and developing cadres is dependent on income per head. According to Fred W. Riggs a professor well known for his works on Comparative Public Administration, developing countries shares some characteristics that distinguished them from the developed countries of the world. However, in a real-life situation, every country is still developing. Just that, some countries are in the high extreme of development while others are below or at the redline. Fred categorised societies into 3. 1. Fused(developing/underdeveloped/3rd world) societies, 2. Prismatic societies and 3. Diffracted societies. Today, we are discussing IPTV in underdeveloped countries in relation to IPTV popularity in poor nations of the world. If you are still interested in Fred’s prismatic society theory, please grab any book on comparative p. Administration or read it up here.

IPTV in underdeveloped countries – Popularity of IPTV Services in Developing Countries

Compared to like a few years ago, IPTV streaming is becoming more popular in underdeveloped countries of the world. All thanks to the availability of “low resolution” IPTV channels on some official and unofficial IPTV services like showmax, xtream IPTV(unofficially), youtube videos, and so on.

It is not easy to use IPTV rationally in developing countries. Sometimes, we run at a loss watching channel on IPTV because we spend more on internet subscriptions than necessary.

Basic Characteristics of Underdeveloped Countries that made Internet TV Streaming Difficult

Usually, if your country shares the following characteristics (like mine) then your country is poor and IPTV popularity will be very low.

• Lower per-capita income
• High levels of poverty and under-nutrition (
• Higher population growth rates in relation to the available resources. Nigeria is a good example of these.
• low levels of industrialization. We still don’t have a 4g network in all state capitals of some countries let alone having it everywhere.
• Low level of urbanization but rapid rural-to-urban migration: rural dwellers migrate to urban areas to overload the internet resources
• Finally, we also have a slow rate of technological development

Lower per-capita income is the greatest determinant of development in a country. This doesn’t mean there are no rich people in developing countries. Nigeria, for example, has the biggest economy in Africa. However, that doesn’t make her the richest. In terms of per capita income, Nigeria is one of the poorest countries. I will use Nigeria as a case study in this write-up.

98% of premium IPTV users in Nigeria are either rich individuals, those using it once in a while or using it for commercial purposes(e.g betting shops or soccer viewing lounges).

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IPTV in underdeveloped countries: 9 Challenges Faced by People Using IPTV in Developing Countries

In this section, I will be explaining succinctly why even with the availability of 4G/LTE, most underdeveloped countries have still not accepted the innovation of IPTV fully.

• Affordability of Internet subscription

The live blood of IPTV happens to be fast and stable internet. Also, your connection must be reliable. Sadly, cheap data subscriptions in underdeveloped countries have unreliable and slow internet speeds. However, the expensive ones like 9mobile, IPNX, Ntel, smile, etc are pretty fast.

It is difficult to pay for these bundles merely for IPTV purposes. In other words, you will have to pay for both the IPTV services as well as your internet plan. That will be one hardship too many for anyone from a poor country of the world.

• Poverty and underdevelopment

Basically, you need money to get started with IPTV. Unlike FTA satellite packages, spending on IPTV services is a constant and continuous process. You continually need to have an internet data plan and you will have to renew your subscription on or before every due date. Even if you are using free IPTV, you still need to purchase a substantial data plan

Poverty is one of the characteristics of developing countries. By extension, this means the money is not there. Consequently, many IPTV users will voluntarily use a free IPTV that is if they have good internet in the first place. Piracy sets in majorly as a result of poverty.

• Low level of Technological development

Developed nations already have established infrastructure and can, therefore, roll out the latest technology available. Unfortunately, same cannot be said of developing nations. The fastest internet happens to be fibre optic and ADSL broadband connection.  I doubt if we have a handful of this in most developing countries.

• Congestion of the Available Internet facilities in the Underdeveloped Nations

Many of us living in developing countries are already familiar with the term “peak and off-peak” periods. Peak period is the hours where everyone is on the network and both data and voice calls quality suffers. You experience a nightmarish experience trying to browse the internet during peak periods. On the contrary, off-peak periods is when you can get things done faster if you are on a slow network. Peak periods fall between work periods and when it is about bedtime. I can categorize this from 12 am to 5 am for off-peak periods and 8 am to 5 pm for the peak.

For you to work around this, you must upgrade your network to one that is not congested. You must pay more to get a better speed. This is also a challenge for most people in developing nations.

• Premium IPTV Sometimes Requires a Faster Internet

What attracts many to paid IPTV is the stability, and picture quality with 4k and HD channels. It, therefore, comes as no surprise that this element requires a faster internet connection. Blazingly fast internet is often a luxury in underdeveloped states. While high video resolution and quality pictures is is a good thing for the developed/advanced countries of the world, it is a killjoy for us down here.

Only around 20% of Developing counties can boast of a good 4g/LTE Network. Currently, you can’t even get a 3G network in every location in a developing country. Conversely, some developed countries already have a 5G network.

In Nigeria for example, the coverage of the 4g network is extremely poor and with slow speed on some networks. Most ISP in developing countries throttle their internet speed. As if that is not enough, the 3g network in Nigeria is not reliable enough for consistent video streaming.

• There is no True unlimited data bundle in 95% of the Developing Countries

In reality, the ISPs will either impose their fair usage policies on you or throttle your speed so much so that it will be so difficult opening a mere webpage on your phone. Would a speed that couldn’t open a mobile page be able to stream videos? In your case, if you are a premium IPTV subscriber, it simply means you have been shortchanged on both ends. The so-called fair usage policy in Nigeria is so annoying.

• Most premium IPTV offers fewer contents for more

People in developing countries also want to enjoy good things with the little they have. At least, I know my own people. In Nigeria, we want the best for less.

Free IPTV offers more contents and sacrifices good quality and convenience. We are surely content with this since going premium might take more from us and give us less.

• Downtimes & Instability on Available Fast Internet

It is so annoying when you subscribe to seemingly fast but unreliable internet. I have many subscribers who can afford the subscription.

However, the speeds fluctuate and the videos buffer. This will most likely cause you to have a rethink when you want to renew your IPTV subscription. Your connection can drop from a 4g speed to a 2g speed within a minute.

• High Cost of a Good Premium IPTV Service

Factually, the better the service, the more you pay for the subscription. Let me use the service packages of Ancloud and tiger as a case study. You cannot compare the efficiency and response time of ancloud IPTV acc/xtream account with that of tiger decoders. However, one is more expensive than the other. Also, before its demise, Qsat dqiptv offered the cheapest IPTV subscription ever.

IPTV in underdeveloped countries: How you can Use IPTV Services Rationally in Poor Countries

In economics, a rational consumer is that whose behavior or decision-making process is based on making choices that result in the most optimal level of benefit or utility for the individual. However, not every consumer who derives utility from the consumption of a commodity is rational. This brings us to the issue of rationality vis-a-vis the consumption of IPTV service packages. Whether you are running at a loss or not, you may simply continue subscribing to a premium IPTV package for the following reasons:

Why Do People Still Use IPTV in Underdeveloped Countries?

• First off, you can use IPTV even with little or no money of your own if you have access to free internet in an illegal manner. For example, if you hack someone’s internet(e.g Wi-Fi pass). This is a very bad thing. It simply means someone is paying for your internet cost.
• Secondly, you may benefit from a huge data bundle form your Internet service provider. At the moment, we have various data offers on all major ISPs in Nigeria. To qualify, all you need to do is to buy a new sim card.
• Similarly, you can get free and unlimited internet if you are in some high-class hotels. Just make sure you got with your IPTV streaming device.
• Also, if you have an obsession with a particular program or content, you may most likely spend on it regardless. I do waste a lot of money for playing games online. I know I am burning cash but I can’t stop because I derive pleasure and satisfaction in it. Similarly, some are obsessed with movies, especially series. For others, it is all about p*rn movies. All these are the exception to the rules guiding premium IPTV usage in developing countries
• Furthermore, if you have authorized access to an unlimited and fast internet connection, you will surely do IPTV. For example, your house is close to a hotel and your relative who is a staff shares his login with you.
• You have unlimited internet due to a loophole from your ISP: This happens every now and gain. I must admit, I am and have also been a beneficiary of this. However, immediately the loophole is patched, it is back to square zero.

How to Save Cost Using IPTV in underdeveloped countries

If your case is not listed among the exceptions above, the following points will help you save money if you are below or an average income earner from a developing country.

1. If by your estimation, the amount you will be spending on IPTV will be more than what you will spend on satellite TV subscriptions, please let IPTV be.
2. Do you have a feeling that your Pay-TV provider is ripping you off?
3. Furthermore, if you are a traveler who rarely stays at home to enjoy local channels, you can take your tv along with you everywhere you go. Besides, if you travel so often and you are not a commercial driver, it means you are not poor sir/ma.
4. Grab the opportunity you have if you have free access to the unlimited internet. I am not encouraging hacking here. I will not cause pains and hardship to my brother all in the name of enjoying IPTV. However, if you get it on a platter of gold, enjoy it.
5. Do not consider any IPTV at all if you have the following conditions: Poor internet connection, slow internet connection like 2G.
6. Avoid a premium IPTV if your internet connection is unstable or it is time-based.
7. Use your IPTV solution if you have a stable, fast but expensive, and limited internet subscription. Please do not get carried away. use it only for the purpose for which it was acquired. for example, if you subscribe to IPTV to watch only soccer, make sure that is the only thing you do on it. Use other pay-tv subscriptions for other tv contents.
8. Honestly, if you are in love with a particular program not available locally, and you can afford to watch it via IPTV, nobody should stop you