Hyderabad: Economics and politics of Digital Addressable System

Hyderabad: The Digital Addressable System is benefiting only broadcasters and the Centre.

With DAS, broadcasters are able to track the signals utilised by MSOs. The Centre gets Rs 30 per connection as service tax (14 per cent), Swachh Bharat cess and Krishi Kalyan cess (0.5 per cent each), with customer paying Rs 200 per month.

MSOs who adopt illegal signalling system and steal digital signals benefit from both the government and the broadcaster not looking into the issue.

The state government collects Rs 5 per connection as entertainment tax apart from the pole tax. As per rules, tax has to be collected Rs 5 per pole utilised by the cable operator in rural areas and Rs 15 in urban areas.

After the assurance of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to cable operators that the pole tax would be cancelled, operators have stopped paying in southern Telangana.

An official source said that there was no particular circular or order released on the matter. “The collection of taxes depends on the government. The government orally ordered some municipalities and municipal corporations not to collect the pole tax from cable operators,” the source said.

A cable operator said wherever the MSO or cable operator was owned by someone from the ruling party, the pole tax was not being paid.

“Most of the cable operators in south Telangana belong to the TRS Adilabad in North Telangana has three MSOs who are relatives of TS ministers and an ex-MLA who belongs to TRS has an MSO. In Karimnagar, a minister’s kin and an MLA’s kin are MSOs,” he said.