On 13 November, Tolib Kholov, official from the State TV and Radio Committee informed that the activities of cable TV companies in Dushanbe are terminated because of the absence of licenses.

Kholov said that the idea belongs to the Committee on National Security. The Committee refers to the fact that these companies do not have broadcasting licenses. Answering the question “why these companies could not obtain the license?”, Kholov said that they failed to collect necessary documents. He added that in some of the documents the companies should indicate sources of funding and agreements with broadcasting companies whose programs they rebroadcast.

Manager of TV Ison Askar Niyazov who has been providing cable TV services since 2005, said that his company has been waiting for response from the licensing committee for two years. He also stressed that the authorities provided them with no official letter explaining why they cannot receive a blank licensing form. Niyazov says that the cable TV services are in demand, especially among lower income citizens who cannot afford paying $200 for a satellite dish. Cable TV services provide more than 55 TV channels, for which subscribers pay monthly $2,30.

Tolib Kholov said that in the nearest future activities of similar companies will be terminated in other regions of Tajikistan. There are nine companies providing cable TV services.

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