Cable operators ask Pemra to stop auction of DTH
PESHAWAR – The Cable Operators Association of Pakistan (COAP) Peshawar chapter on Saturday appealed to Pakistan Electronic Media Regularity Authority (PEMRA) Chairman Absar Alam to cancel the auction of Direct-to-Home (DTH) services and postpone its launching for the next three years.
They also appealed to PEMRA to take stern action against those who were providing illegal services and operating Indian TV and C-Line across the province. They further stressed on the concerned authorities to remove Indian TV channels from all kind of sources.
“We will raise our voice at every forum for our rights and will stage protest demonstration,” Coordinator Ali Raza Khan said.
Addressing a press conference at Peshawar Press Club, he said that PEMRA would auction the DTH license on November 23, adding that this decision would directly affect thousands of cable operators across the country.
He maintained that all the cable operators had invested billions of rupees in the digital system on the directives of PEMRA but neither the digital nor the DTH policy was clear to the cable operators. Since 2000, we have operated the cable system in Pakistan, he added.
First, we operated analogue cable system then we directed to operate the digital cable system and we have invested billions of rupees in this system, but now the concerned authorities launching DTH system, the provincial coordinator said.
He was flanked by dozens of other cable operators, including Imran Nabi, Adil Sardar, Shakirullah, Saqib, Nadir Khan, Babar Khan, Nauman Nadeem, Kamran Gohar, Raja Amir, Hayat Chaman, Sohail Khan and others.
He added that PEMRA received billions of rupees as taxes from the cable operators, therefore, the concerned authority formulate a separate policy for the DTH and the digital system, instead of adopting dual policy.
According to the details, nearly 14,000 cable operators having legal licensed are operating cable system across Pakistan, of them 200 cable operators are operating in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. In Peshawar, over 45 cable operators are delivering their services. The coordinator added that the sale of Dish TV and C-Line had already increased in Pakistan.
He appealed to Chief of Army Staff (COAS) to launch the operation against the illegal selling of Dish TV and C-line and those spreading negative propaganda against Pakistan.
He said, we have met PEMRA authorities several times to find out a solid solution for the issue, but to no avail and the concerned authorities are least bothered in this regard, adding that with the introduction of DTH system the cable operators and consumers would affect.
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