Cable TV ops in Assam threaten to black out transmission of TV channels on 23 December

Cable TV operators in Assam have threatened to black out transmission of television channels on their networks on 23 December due to charges being introduced on utlisiation of electricity poles. 

The Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd (APDCL) has fixed Rs 25 per pole per month as electricity pole utilisation charges, which is mostly used by cable TV operators for running their networks. There were no charges or rentals so far. 

As a fallout of this, the Greater Guwahati Cable TV Operators Association (GGCTOA) has called for this protest. The cable TV service will, thus, be stopped for five hours from 4 pm on 23 December. 

Mohammed Iquebal Ahmed, General Secretary, GGCTOA said, “The arbitrary and unreasonable pole utilisation charges fixed by APDCL shall hit badly the cable TV industry as it shall lead to a price hike of cable TV rates. This may lead to loss of subscriber base of cable TV.”

The GGCTOA had already submitted a memorandum to APDCL chairman for reconsidering the rates but again on 17 December it was informed by the power distribution company of its inability to negotiate the rates. 

Besides deciding to stop transmission of TV channels, GGCTOA has also resolved to submit memorandums to the chief minister and power minister of Assam for intervention. 

“GGCTOA shall resort to other forms of democratic protest in future to get reasonable rates for survival of the Cable TV industry,” Ahmed warned. 

Cable TV operators are facing stiff competition from direct-to-home (DTH) service providers and the deadline for implementation of digital addressable system (DAS) by 31 December 2014 will also require huge financial investment. “The power distribution company should consider these broader issues before deciding to charge us for utilising electricity poles,” Ahmed added. 

Earlier, in 2008, GGCTOA had proposed the then ASEB to legalise the pole utilisation by charging a reasonable rate.

Source: TelevisionPost, 22 Dec

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/digitization-news/item/3885-cable-tv-ops-in-assam-threaten-to-black-out-transmission-of-tv-channels-on-23-december.html