CHENNAI: Seventy lakh households subscribing to Arasu Cable may face blackout as last mile cable operators threaten to go on stir on January 24 demanding revision of cable subscription structure from Rs 70 to Rs 150.
Tamizhaga Cable TV Operator's General Welfare Association general secretary G Damodaran told Express that the last mile cable operators are opposing the fee structure prescribed by Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV corporation which is bleeding the cable industry and will go on strike for 12 hours from 9 am to 9pm.
As the members of the association launched a hunger stir, Damodaran said that the last mile cable operators demand a fee structure of Rs 150 per subscriber per month.
The cable industry is losing the customer base which is migrating to DTH operators like SCV due to poor quality of signal from Arasu, the association has urged the government to improve the quality of service.
Damodaran also alleged that Sun TV distributors are being used as collection agents by Arasu Cable TV Corporation.
“This is a dangerous phenomenon,” he alleged. Talking of the plight of a cable TV operator, Damodaran said that an operator with 300 connections spends Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 a month. This includes salary for two employees besides electricity bill as well as rent. Expenses also include cable replacement and amplifier failure.
“There are also instances in rural areas where there could be at least 20 per cent defaulters, Now with a fee structure of Rs 70 per month, of which we have to shell Rs 20 to Arasu cable, it will make our existence difficult,” he said.
The operators also said that a total of 2.5 lakh families are dependent on the cable industry and the government should pay compensation to those in the industry who lost their lives during accident.