PUNE: Television sets of cable subscribers will go blank for an hour on October 2 because the Maharashtra Cable TV Operators' Federation has declared a state-wide agitation to highlight its problems.
The Federation said their services will remain closed in all major cities of the state in a phased manner.
There are about 150 cable operators in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad with a collective customer base of 6 lakh connections.
Arvind Prabhu, president of the Federation, said on Monday, "Cable operators and customers are facing problems because of some recent changes introduced in the cable TV service sector. As a result of these changes, customers will end up paying more every month. The agitation planned on October 2 aims to oppose the changes, which are not in the interest of the cable operators and customers."
Prabhu said they do not want to disrupt their service and are ready to hold talks with multi-system operators to resolve the issues . "But if the talks do not happen before October 2, cable operators will go head with the scheduled agitation," he said.
Prabhu said that there was a need to reduce entertainment tax imposed on customers. "At present, the tax is Rs 45 per set top box per month, which is high. Multi System Operators have increased fee of some channels for the last few months without prior intimation. Cable operators are unnecessarily paying more because of the sudden increase and want a revision," Prabhu said. The Federation said there was a need to fix ownership of set top boxes and responsibility for its repairs and replacement. "The operators have approached the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India pertaining to the issues. There was a need to resolve these issues at the earliest to protect interests of consumers."
Cable operators to stop service for 1 hour - The Times of India
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The Federation said their services will remain closed in all major cities of the state in a phased manner.
There are about 150 cable operators in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad with a collective customer base of 6 lakh connections.
Arvind Prabhu, president of the Federation, said on Monday, "Cable operators and customers are facing problems because of some recent changes introduced in the cable TV service sector. As a result of these changes, customers will end up paying more every month. The agitation planned on October 2 aims to oppose the changes, which are not in the interest of the cable operators and customers."
Prabhu said they do not want to disrupt their service and are ready to hold talks with multi-system operators to resolve the issues . "But if the talks do not happen before October 2, cable operators will go head with the scheduled agitation," he said.
Prabhu said that there was a need to reduce entertainment tax imposed on customers. "At present, the tax is Rs 45 per set top box per month, which is high. Multi System Operators have increased fee of some channels for the last few months without prior intimation. Cable operators are unnecessarily paying more because of the sudden increase and want a revision," Prabhu said. The Federation said there was a need to fix ownership of set top boxes and responsibility for its repairs and replacement. "The operators have approached the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India pertaining to the issues. There was a need to resolve these issues at the earliest to protect interests of consumers."
Cable operators to stop service for 1 hour - The Times of India
..
