Over 1.2 million subscribers of Siti Cable may have to pay at least Rs 100 extra or face a blackout. The Multi Service Operator (MSO),according to cable operators under it,has suddenly started packages for customers and they are facing the wrath of consumers. It is impossible for us to convince lakhs of customers that they have to choose a package and switch overnight,paying an extra sum. There should have been some notification or advertisement in newspapers. Siti Cable is taking the cost of watching television dangerously close to that of the cost of a DTH, said A Raj,chairman,UCC,an association of about 45 cable operators under Siti Cable. Another cable operator said the revenue sharing model between the MSO and the cable operator would change as well bringing down the latters share. The MSO will take a major chunk of revenue,leaving us a paltry sum with which we have to maintain offices,equipment,and replace wires and boosters that are stolen so often. It will not be possible for a long time, he said. Raj also said he,along with most cable operators under UCC,would pull out of the Siti Cable umbrella. The price of the packages would begin from Rs 100 plus taxes,amounting to about Rs 130 but cable operators said a standard viewer would have to shell out about Rs 260. The low-end packages do not have any of the popular channels, Raj said. He also said that there were many connections to clubs and NGOs where they did not charge anything and there were influential people who would not like to cough up the extra money. How do we make up for those, he asked. Siti Cable authorities,however,said they were only following TRAI guidelines. What can we do if that is a TRAI mandate? The cable operator would have to convince consumers, said Suresh Sethia,director,Siti Cable. He also agreed that there was a possibility that the earnings of cable operators would come down.
