The Tamil Nadu government today began distributing free Set Top Boxes (STB) to subscribers. .
Chief Minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami launched the service through government-owned Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation (Arasu Cable). He distributed STBs and also inaugurated MPEG-4 upgraded control room for digital signal transmission.
A State government release said Arasu Cable was the only State-owned undertaking in India to offer STBs free of cost and combined digital cable TV and Internet services. The STBs comes with a three-year warranty.
Nearly 70 lakh subscribers in Arasu cable network will have access to nearly 180 channels in digital mode. There will be four packages with monthly subscription varying between ₹125 and ₹275 with option of both pay and free channels, said a government release. TACTV applied for Digital Addressable System licence in 2012 and got it in April this year. For the first time a State government-run cable TV was given this licence to deliver digital cable channels at low cost. Arasu TV, which began operations in October 2007, offers 90-100 channels through local cable operators across the State. From 4.94 lakh subscribers in September 2011, the number has increased to 70.52 lakh. Cable operators can change an one time activation fee of ₹200 from customers, the release said.