Information Minister Hasan Mahmud on Sunday slammed the cable operators which have stopped the operation of 24v ad-free foreign channels and said they will be charged with violating rules. “Twenty-four TV channels, including the BBC, CNN, Al Jajeera and Animal Planet have clean feeds in Bangladesh but the cable operators have stopped the operation of those clean feed channels, and it’s considered as a violation of the condition of the liscense. So, those who’re violating the rules will be charged with,” he said while talking to reporters at the Secretariat.  Besides, the minister said, many cable operators are involved in ‘downlink’ through piracy from foreign satellites, which is illegal.   Talking about the threat of Cable Operators Association of Bangladesh (COAB) to go on a movement after October 4, the minister said, “Talking about such movement is illogical .I hope no one will be involved in any kind of activity that goes against the country’s interests, and the government won’t bow down to any pressure.”

Internet service providers and cable operators on Saturday suspended their previous decision to block access to the web for three hours across the country.

Apart from digitising the cable television network of the country, Cable Operators’ Association of Bangladesh (COAB) on Tuesday demanded that it must be declared as a separate industry.