Bengaluru : A top official of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) reportedly told cable operators on Wednesday that the decision on providing the Digital Addressable System (DAS) licence to Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation Ltd (TACTV) would be taken in about three months’ time.
During the on-going consultation program meeting organised by TRAI with cable operators from across the Southern states in Bengaluru, TRAI officials said discussions had taken place between TRAI and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) recently over the issue, two cable operators from Tamil Nadu who attended the meeting. “The details of the discussions are confidential. But, a decision will be taken in three months. You have waited for so long, so please wait for just another three months. A decision – positive or negative – will be conveyed by then,” a TRAI official reportedly told the cable operators.
Moreover, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa also submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday in New Delhi, in which she raised the issue of pending DAS licence to the state-run Arasu Cable Corporation.
“The deliberate non-issuance of DAS licence to the State Government-owned Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation by the previous UPA Government was only to facilitate particular private business interests. Since then, several representations and letters have been sent to Government of India, but the licence is yet to be issued. I request you to expedite the issue of DAS licence to TACTV,” she said in the memorandum.
TRAI officials are also said to have told the gathering that digital signals will be mandatory after 31st December 2016 and analog signals will be stopped from that day across the country. The regulator is also planning to roll out a new tariff order in three months that will be neutral to all operators.
