BRIEFS

FIRST PRIVATE INTERNET SERVICE LAUNCHED

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in Hyderabad launched the first privately run Indian Internet service on 22 November. The service operated by Satyam Infoway was later extended to another six cities on 23 November. Subscription is priced at Rs 3,600 for 100 hours of Internet access, 20% higher than VSNL, which earlier had a monopoly on Internet services.

TAXING CABLE TV SUBSCRIBERS

The Bihar government has taken a decision to impose a tax on cable TV subscribers. Those subscribing to five and above cable TV channels will be liable to pay Rs 50 per month, while the liability will be Rs 30 every month for those subscribing to less than five channels. According to the Indian Media & Market Studies report for 1998, Bihar has 380,000 cable TV subscribers. The state government expects to garner additional revenues to the tune of Rs 80-100 million ($1= Rs 43) on account of the new tax.

MULTIMEDIA TV TO BE INTRODUCED

Consumer electronics firm Videocon says it will be introducing a two-piece multimedia TV by end-December, which can be used for WebTV. The product is priced at Rs 30,000.