The Cable Operators Federation of India on Sunday said that there was no level playing field in the TV channel distribution industry and it alleged there was a conspiracy to kill the cable operators business.

"There is no level playing field for direct-to-home players and cable TV operators in India," Roop Sharma, President, COFI, said at a news conference called by the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal in Kolkata.

"For instance, while there was no taxation imposed on DTH consumers till recently, cable TV consumers have always had to pay entertainment tax. Again, it is not clear why the rates for pay channels are 50 per cent less on the DTH platform and that much higher for cable TV consumers."

The cable TV industry, estimated at around Rs 55,000 crore (Rs 550 billion), employs about 30,000 people.

Sharma pointed out that the analog system, which cable operators continued to use was a major part of their problem.

"We need to digitise our offerings. But we need funds for that. In the meanwhile, if other technologically-rich service providers like DTH, with the help of government, claim to offer free services and use other marketing gimmicks to push their promotions at a cheaper cost, the cable TV industry will collapse in three years," Sharma said.

However, when contacted, R N Choubey, Principal Advisor, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, said, "DTH and cable operators provide healthy competition to consumers. The government of India is not promoting any one sector at the cost of another. However, it is up to the consumers to decide what they want to opt for."

Sharma, the cable body chief, suggested a digitisation service obligation to help the cable operators along the lines of the universal service obligation fund that promotes rural telephony in the country.

He said research had shown that while a single TV household would have to pay Rs 18,240 for cable TV viewing over five years, a DTH subscriber would shell out Rs 24,000 for a single TV over a similar period.

Similarly, while two- and three-television households would spend Rs 18,370 and Rs 18,450 respectively over five years for cable TV, that for a DTH subscriber would cost Rs 35,000 and Rs 47,000 respectively over that period.