Pics: Meryick D'Silva
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (MD)

Mangaluru, Dec 7: The Karnataka state government’s plan to enter the cable television network services may soon become a reality, as per state information minister Roshan Baig who announced that he was considering launching the service in the next two-three months, provided that the union government gives its nod.

He was addressing the media at Circuit House here on Sunday December 7. He was in the city for a brief stopover en route to Bhatkal.

"The private cable operators have been exploiting customers by charging as much as Rs 400 per month, stating that they would provide over 500 channels. However, the public does not have time to surf through all the channels. Hence I intend to bring down the cable fee to Rs 100 on par with the service in Tamil Nadu and provide reasonably good service through the state government's own cable network," Baig said.

The minister said that he will hold talks with the chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and union minister for communications and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad in this regard and will arrive at a conclusion soon.

The state government's plan to start a cable network in the state has been on the anvil for quite some time. The private cable operators have opposed the move, stating that as per the TRAI guidelines, the state government cannot own a cable network. The Karnataka State Cable TV Operators' Association had even said that if the government were to go ahead with its place, it would move court.