Hike in cable charges from Jan 1

New Delhi, Dec 27: Cable TV subscription per month will increase from Rs 5 to Rs 5.35 this new years. Pay channels in conditional access system (CAS) operated areas - including south Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai reports Times of India.

Cost of 30 free to air channels will also go up to Rs 82 per month instead of the existing Rs 77 while cable prices in non-CAS areas will be increased by 7 per cent. These prices are excluding taxes and will be enforced on Jan 1.

In a metro city where CAS has not been implemented, your cable bill will go up from Rs 160 to Rs 171 for 20 pay channels and 30 free to air (FTA) channels. If you get more than 20 but up to 30 pay channels, your monthly bill will go up from Rs 200 to Rs 214.

Those in major cities like Agra, Amritsar, Dehradun, Dhanbad, Jamnagar, Nashik and Varanasi will end up paying Rs 150 instead of Rs 140 for 20 pay and 30 FTA channels.

Despite a minimal hike in cable charges, the consumer will be hit hard after the taxes kick in.

But it's not all bad news. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has directed that security deposit and monthly rental for set-top boxes should be cut down. Security deposit for set-top boxes has been brought down from Rs 250 to Rs 200 and monthly rental will decrease from Rs 45 to Rs 34.

Announcing amendments to the tariff order, TRAI said it was necessary "to provide for inflation linked increase" in pricing of cable TV services.

OneIndia News (With inputs from Agencies)