Arasu Cable TV Corporation Ltd (ACTCL) has proposed to take over the existing control rooms of private operators to provide cable TV services in 11 districts in Tamil Nadu. The state government has said 94 per cent of the cable operators have already registered with the Corporation.
According to an IT department note, the corporation was formed by the state government with a view to provide high quality cable TV services at a reasonable cost to the general public through the local cable operators (LCO).
Four digital head-ends at Thanjavur, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli and Vellore and one analog head end at Mundiampakkam village in Villupuram district have been established. Subsequently, the corporation became defunct completely.
Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa said at the time of taking office that all steps would be taken for the immediate revival of the Arasu Cable TV Corporation for providing cable TV services at reasonable rates.
The government has appointed a chairman and managing director for the corporation to oversee the revival and expansion activities of the corporation. An amount of Rs 3 crore has also been sanctioned as ways and means advance to the corporation.
“There has been an overwhelming response from the local cable TV operators and till the last date of enrolment on August 9, over 35,000 LCOs and 2,640 MSOs have registered themselves with ACTCL.
In Tamil Nadu, there are about 40,000 cable TV operators and out of this, 94 per cent have applied for enrolment in Arasu Cable TV Corporation. The digital headends already established at Thanjavur, Tirunelveli, Coimbatore and Vellore are being revived and new analog headends are being installed in 16 districts.
The government was taking action to commence the cable TV services at the earliest, according to the note.