Much of the recent focus on India’s cable operators has been concentrated on the complex – and often troubled – conversion from analogue to digital.  However, October 10th saw regulators pounce on 32 smaller Local Cable Operators (LCOs) and closed them down completely.

It seems that none of the 32 LCOs have paid their entertainment taxes!  “We had issued notices to these cable operators to clear their dues and file an affidavit with the administration about the number of customers with them. But that has not been done. So, we have decided to snap the connections. On Friday morning the cable connections to all the 32 LCOs will be disconnected,” said a local official.

The authorities have identified that there were 32 operators who had not paid a penny to the administration. “Since none of the 32 operators responded, the signal to their regions will be terminated from Friday morning (October 11th) and a report to that effect will be generated and collected from the MSO. Of the 32, there are 17 LCOs who have started business afresh and hence do not have any licence for transmission.

The number of homes affected measure in the thousands, and up to 10,000 in one city alone (Nashik in Maharashtra state).

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