Cable Operators Might Charge Service Fee from Subscribers, Trai Yet to Give Approval

The cable operators association also raised concerns saying that fixing cables and collecting subscription fee is round-the-clock work. They added that on an average, an operator employs at least five-six people, however, but with this reduced income, it would be impossible to serve the customers.

Paying Employees Becomes Hard for Cable Operators

What’s interesting to note is that although pay channel prices have gone up, the earnings of the operators have come down. As per the new system, 80% price of the pay channels goes to broadcasters, while the rest 20% is kept by Multi-system operators (MSOs) and cable operators. Out of the base fee which is charged for the first 100 FTA channels, operators get to keep Rs 75. For a package priced at Rs 200, operators earn around Rs 80, whereas for a package priced at Rs 300 they net above Rs 95. A package priced around Rs 400 nets the operators around Rs 110.

The operators’ association in Kolkata, emphasised that it will be hard for the companies to maintain the current employee count as the reduced earnings would mean less budget for handing out salaries. Minal Chatterjee of MSO Bengal Broadband also said that services might get delayed too. He also said that subscribers might have to visit the offices of the operators to pay their monthly subscription fee since, given the current situations, the workers collecting subscription fee will be laid off.

Now, we are yet to see how Trai intervenes in this matter and whether or not the regulator allows the operators to levy a service charge so that they can carry out easy subscription-fee collection and repairs for the subscribers.