DTH looks set to get go-ahead from ministerial group; awaits Cabinet nod

The old bugbear is finally out of the way. Ku-band direct to home television (DTH) looks set to get the go-ahead finally after a three year ban on sale of Ku-band reception equipment. The group of ministers on DTH - headed by home minister L.K. Advani - met twice yeterday to flesh out the issue, but couldn't come up with a final set of recommendations, though in principle they agreed that it should be cleared and presented to the cabinet for its approval.

Among those participating in Sunday's meeting were Advani, finance minister Yashwant Sinha, information technology minister Pramod Mahajan, information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj, and the law minister Arun Jaitley.

The ministers were slated to be meeting at the time of writing and draw up a final set of recommendations. It is quite likely that they will recommend that DD be the main DTH operator in partnership with private companies. Additionally, it is expected to allow limited foreign pariticipation in DTH.

Both Star TV and Zee TV - along with Malaysian operator Measat, which has a two year old pact with the state-owned network - will be watching anxiously what the GoM will finally propose.



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