Security clearance axed, provisional MSOs to get 10-year licences in due course

NEW DELHI: The Home Ministry has officially informed the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry that it will not insist on security clearance for multi system operators (MSOs) for digital addressable television for cable television.

Confirming the same to Indiantelevision.com, a senior I&B Ministry source also informed that the practice of giving provisional licences to some MSOs will continue.

A new list on 20 August said that a total of 372 MSOs had been issued licences, of which 146 were provisional licences. The rest 226 had ten-year licences.

Explaining the rationale behind this, the source said that the aim was to check the veracity of MSOs, which had been given provisional licence.

The source added that every one of these MSOs would get ten-year licences like the others if nothing adverse was found against them.