Guwahati, March 17: Cable television operators of the Northeast are uniting to protect their interests with the hitherto unorganised sector becoming a small-scale industry on which over one lakh people across the region are dependent for their livelihood.

These operators will assemble in Kaziranga in the first week of April for a two-day seminar that is expected to address every aspect of the business of taking satellite television channels to homes. An ad-hoc co-ordination committee of cable television operators of Assam has already been constituted.

Cable Operators’ Federation of India president Roop Sharma told the media here today that the cable television business was the source of sustenance for over one lakh educated unemployed youths of the region. She said cable television operators deserved all the benefits that small-scale industries enjoy.

The Kaziranga meet will be the first step towards bringing all cable television operators of the region on a single platform to find solutions to problems and ways to offer better service to subscribers. The seminar will focus on the need for technical advancement and a campaign to make the people aware about the problems faced by operators.

All-Guwahati Cable TV Operators’ Association general secretary Iquebal Ahmed, who initiated the unity move, made a case for subsidised pay channel rates for the Northeast, exemption or relaxation of the central service tax and the state amusement tax, and immediate implementation of the conditional access system (CAS).

Sharma, who is a member of the CAS task force constituted by the Union information and broadcasting ministry, seconded him. She said it was high time cable operators asserted their demands and exposed the discriminatory and exploitative nature of pay channels.

“Recurring expenses and the high cost of pay channels make the per-point expenditure so high that the Rs 285 monthly fee charged from a subscriber is insufficient,” she said.

Cable television operators of the city said most subscribers were reluctant to pay even this amount and that the incidence of default was high. “Subscribers demand withdrawal of particular pay channels and inclusion of news, sports or entertainment channels,” one operator said.

Ahmed said cable television operators of the Northeast were facing more problems than their counterparts elsewhere. He said the two main disadvantages were the geographical terrain in some places, causing difficulty in providing connections, and frequent power cuts.

Over 3,000 people are directly involved in the cable television business in the Assam capital alone. Operators are accused of duping their subscribers, but Ahmed said most were unaware of the situation.