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— M .Srinath

The Chief Minister, Mr M. Karunanidhi, inaugurating the Arasu Cable TV Corporation in Thanjavur through video conferencing from Chennai on Tuesday.

Our Bureau

Chennai, July 15 Arasu Cable TV Corporation Ltd, the State Government enterprise for providing cable television service, started operations on Tuesday.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Mr M. Karunanidhi, launched the service by inaugurating a digital control centre in Thanjavur over a video conference facility from here. Television viewers in Tiruchi, Pudukottai, Thiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Perambalur and Ariyalur can avail themselves of the Arasu Cable service through their local cable TV operators.

As a Multi Systems Operator, Arasu Cable is setting up similar digital control centres in Coimbatore, Tirunelveli and Vellore — each at a cost of over Rs 5.54 crore — to extend its services across the State.

Addressing the inaugural, Mr Karunanidhi said the services have been launched to provide quality television programmes at a fair price to the public. Private operators charge Rs 150-300 for their service. But Arasu Cable would offer over 60 pay and free-to-air channels for less than Rs 100 across the State. In Chennai, where the CAS (conditional access system) is in vogue, the free-to-air channels would be available for less than Rs 100 and those opting for set-top boxes will have to pay the rates fixed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. The subscription would definitely be less than that charged by private operators.

Arasu Cable would offer signals first to the cable TV operators who had registered with it and would soon offer another chance for more operators to register with it. It plans to offer 70-80 of the most popular pay channels out of the total of over 300. It had held discussions with the representatives from these channels and most of them have agreed to link up with Arasu Cable. Some are yet to take a decision and Arasu Cable would take appropriate legal action, Mr Karunanidhi said.

More Stories on : New Products & Services | Radio/TV | Tamil Nadu

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