New Delhi : Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) has issued permanent multi-system operator licence to 11 MSOs between Nov 2014 to January 2015 which are valid for ten years.
MIB has granted over 142 permanent MSO registrations in digital addressable system notified areas as on 5 January,
The 11 MSOs include Karuvai Communication (Karur, Tamilnadu), Ajanta Cable Network (Aurangabad, Maharashtra), New Prime Network (Dehradun, Uttarakhand), Jai Mata Di Cable Network (Mahendargarh, Rajasthan), Onsky Technology (Puducherry), Space Television Network (Mumbai & RoMH), Haldwani Digital Services (Haldwani, Uttarakhand), VR Cable (Kanyakumari, Tuticorin & Chennai, Tamilnadu), Satellite Cable Communication (Pune & Nasik, Maharashtra), RD Cable Network (South Goa) and Orugallu Communications (Warangal, Telangana).
MIB has also recently extended the deadline for the application of multi system operator (MSO) registration in Phase 3 areas to February 6th, 2015.
The reason for this is the security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs which takes about 3 to 4 months, and is a prerequisite for the issue of permanent registrations. In order to give sufficient time to applicants of MSO registrations for operation in Phase 3 areas, the cut-off date has been extended. The earlier deadline for application for MSO registration for Phase 3 operations was December 21, 2014. This decision was taken after MIB received several requests to extend the cut-off date.
The MIB also stated that the digitization pending in urban areas not covered in Phases 1 & 2 is slated for completion by December 31, 2015.
