Cable operators suspend transmission in several parts of country
- By Web Desk -
- Nov 21, 2016
ISLAMABAD: Cable operators on Monday announced to indefinitely suspend cable transmission after talks with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar proved abortive, ARY News reported.
The cable feed has started shutting down in several parts of the country.
While, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) is adamant to hold auction Direct to Home (DTH) service licenses on November 23.
All Pakistan Cable Operators Association (APCOA) and Cable Operators Federation of Pakistan (COFP) had on November 15 postponed strike call till talks with the government against PEMRA’s decision to issue DTH service licences to only three companies.
Read More: Cable operators postpone strike call against DTH auction till Friday
In a notification issued by cable operators, they have announced to suspend cable transmission until auction of DTH is cancelled.
They have issued directive to all the cable operators to ensure closure of transmission.
The cable operators said they were against auction of DTH going to take place on November 23.
“Auctioning of DTH is equal to economical murder of hundreds and thousands of cable operators,” they said.
“Pemra had made cable operators spend millions of rupees on digitization of cable TV and even the first phase of digitization was not complete and they had announced to auction DTS,” they said.
The cable operators demanded from the government to put off auction of DTH for at least two years.
They said the cable operators had all the right to protest by suspending transmissions if their demands were not met.
On the other hand, Chairman Pemra Absar Alam said he had given one year time to the cable operators and now they do not want auctioning of DTH to be successful.