NEW DELHI: Although there are less than six months left for the completion of Phase III of Digital Addressable System (DAS) for cable television and while the Home Ministry is planning to do away with security clearance, the number of multi-system operators (MSOs) who have been given permanent registration for a period of ten years is just 349.
In addition, a total of 126 MSOs have been given provisional registration. According to the last list dated 12 July, 2015 the licences of 29 MSOs had been cancelled or their files were closed.
However, this figure is impressive considering that 74 new MSOs have been permitted to operate since 12 July, though a majority of them have provisional licences.
While a majority of MSOs including Kal Cables have had their licences cancelled following the Home Ministry denying security clearance, some have been cancelled for non-operation. These include four cancelled in 2015.
MSOs given permanent registration pan India after 12 July include Swamy Cable Network of Ahmednagar in Maharashtra for districts of Ahmednagar, Nashik
and Aurangabad in Maharashtra; National Cable TV Nilgiris for Gudalur, Pandalur, Ooty, Coonoor, and Kotagiri Talukas in Niligiris District; ACN Cable Pvt Ltd of Bangalore for areas of Nellore Urban and Nellore rural Mandals; Tyagi Cable Network of Budhana for Bagpat, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli and Meerut districts in Uttar Pradesh; and Valarr Gokulum of Coimbatore for District of Coimbatore, Nilgiri and Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu.
Eleven MSOs who had earlier been granted permanent licences were permitted to change their areas of operation.
Provisional licences given after 12 July total 61 including one for Assam and another for Mizoram. Provisional licence had been issued prior to12 July to one MSO in Kashmir.
A majority of provisional MSOs may be made permanent when the Home Ministry begins implementing its plan for doing away with the security clearance clause for MSOs.
