Tired of cable spats taking a toll on your television viewing? Frustrated with channel set-ups changing constantly? If it?s any consolation, so are some cable operators.

Several chunks of the local cable fraternity are mulling breakaway options, blaming the multi-system operators (MSOs) for turf wars, poor service and an overall uncertainty that is hampering business.

With the realisation that the service provider of tomorrow must be equipped not only with better cable transmission but also a host of value-added offerings, like broadband Internet, to fight the direct-to-home (DTH) beam, the next best option could be setting up operations of their own.

?The rivalry between MSOs results in dirty games to lure away operators,? says Dipankar Chakraborty of Garia Forum, which has operators spanning ?a radius of 40 km? from Garia and is fed by MSO Indian Cable Net.

?We had 47 operators. After a group left some time ago, four were lured away recently by a rival MSO, leaving us with 37.? Chakraborty, along with several others, is planning to instal a separate headend for independent functioning.

Chakraborty?s views are echoed by Raj Narayan Chowdhury of Srishti, one of the largest conglomeration of cable operators, which caters to areas like Behala, Thakurpukur, Kidderpore and Garden Reach.

?Our control room should be operational in two months,? Chowdhury says. Srishti?s new set-up, near Taratala, will free it from its MSO Manthan.

MSOs changing hands ? like SitiCable buying out Indian Cable Net recently ? is another cause of concern. ?It leads to uncertainty among operators as they don?t know what the new policy will be,? offers Chakraborty.

Link-men, which provides connectivity to almost the whole of Salt Lake, is on a wait-and-watch ever since the Indian Cable Net buyout.

?On July 1, we start our separate free-to-air service, providing only free channels for Rs 60 to subscribers who want them,? says Rana Das, a director. Though Das won?t admit it, this will also help Link-men create pressure on its MSO and pave the path for a breakaway, if needed.

Several of Link-men?s neighbours in Dum Dum, Bangur and Nagerbazar have announced plans to form a new MSO, Kolkata Cable & Broadband Services, by August.

?We are tired of the MSOs who think only of their profits,? says Mrinal Chatterjee of Akashsutra, a cable unit of the proposed MSO.