The decision of the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to make digitisation of Cable TV network mandatory by installing set-top boxes (STBs) seems to have come as blessing in disguise for some cable operators and their staff who are allegedly collecting more than the maximum retail price (MRP) for the STBs.
Customers are complaining on various virtual forums that a local operator was collecting Rs. 2,500 for a HD STB even the MRP on the gadget indicated the price as Rs. 1,750.
Price
When a customer approached Ridhi Vision, a cable operator in the city, sometime ago, he was told that the price of the HD STB was Rs. 2,250. But, now the staff there in the office claimed that the price was Rs. 2,500 and that the customer was free to buy it or leave it.
‘No control’
When contacted, Rajashekhar Patil, a senior official of the Ridhi Vision, maintained that STBs were being installed by local area operators over whom they had no control.
A few fortnights ago, the cable operators had requested to extend the cut-off date of December 31, 2015 by six months owing to shortage of STBs and the time needed to install them.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner, quoting a communiqué from the Ministry, said that the task force under the Ministry had taken stock of the situation in urban areas falling in Phase III of the implementation of the direction.
Progress of digitisation
The task force assessed the progress of digitisation as being very positive. Broadcasters were advised to ensure that no analogue signals are transmitted in Phase III areas after December 31, 2015 but without affecting analogue signals in Phase IV areas.
He said that the Ministry, in view of the positive outcome of the Phase III exercise and the fact that the notification for the cut-off date was issued more than a year ago, had maintained that there was absolutely no requirement for extension of the cut-off date.
A multilingual toll free helpline (18001804343) has also been made operational to help customers and operators as well.
Operator collecting Rs. 2,500 for an HD STB even as the MRP was
Rs. 1,750
