The financial burden on viewers imposed by being forced to subscribe to bouquets of television channels and the burden of GST on local cable operators dominated the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Communications and information technology on Wednesday. At least one member asked TRAI why channels could not be unbundled and why the local cable operators (LCOs) should not be allowed to offer individual channels. AIDCF’s members include Hathway Cable, Den Networks, Asianet Satellite Communications, and Kerala Communicators Cable. The multi-system operators (MSOs) that were present in the room, including Hathway, said that they are forced to pay GST on what the local cable operator (LCO) charges its customer. Officials from MIB said any decision on GST has to be taken by the Ministry of Finance, HT has learnt.

Source: Hindustan Times December 02, 2023 11:49 UTC