Arasu Cable TV Corporation Would Go Public
The Tamil Nadu government-owned Arasu Cable TV Corporation would go public with 51 per cent issue, if Trai raises any objection to the government running the cable service, a senior official said on Thursday. Allaying fears expressed by cable operators and broadcasters of Coimbatore region at a meeting here, the Arasu M D C Umashankar said if Trai raises any objection, the corporation would sell 51 per cent of its shares to the public.Mr Umashankar, who was here to take suggestions on providing new connections, installation of set top boxes and also decide on charges, said the corporation, which has started its operations in majority of the districts, would become totally functional i n three months. Later talking to reporters, Umashankar said Arasu has plans to provide high-definition set top boxes for cable connections and soon float tender to purchase nearly 20 lakh boxes, before becoming operational.
With bulk purchase, the rate of a set box would be around Rs 2,500 and all broadcasters in the region have accepted the proposal to relay through the boxes, he said. The end users would be given set top boxes on lease for a fee of Rs 30 if the rate was b elow Rs 2,500 and Rs 35 if it was above Rs 2,500, Umashankar said. The corporation would charge Rs 5 for each pay channel and negotiations were going for getting packages from Star TV, Sony and SUN TV, he said.
