The Taipei City Cable TV System Tariff Review Committee held a meeting yesterday to decide on the upper limit of various fees for next year. The installation fee for new users will be increased from 1,000 yuan to 1,200 yuan.

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[Reporter Cai Yahua/Taipei Report] There are more than 560,000 cable TV subscribers in Taipei City. Recently, a number of prices have been raised. The Taipei City Cable TV System Rate Review Committee held a meeting yesterday to decide on the upper limit of various fees for next year, and the installation fee for new subscribers. Increase from 1,000 yuan by 200 yuan to 1,200 yuan, and low-income households will also cancel the exemption of extension fees.

Beishi’s cable TV group pay maintains 3 channel combinations, among which group A, commonly known as “all you can eat”, has a monthly limit of 490 yuan per household for the 9 original operators, and 445 yuan for new entrants in Beidu.

Group B is mainly composed of radio and television channels, aboriginal TV stations, Hakka TV stations, and National Congress Channel.

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Group C is the original channel of Group A plus a few more channels. The upper limit of charges for each industry is still maintained at 510 to 530 yuan per household per month for the 9 original operators.

With the rise of OTT audio-visual services and the introduction of various sports events by MOD, the number of viewers has declined. According to statistics from the Bureau of Viewing and Broadcasting, the number of viewers has decreased by 8,000 to 9,000 each year. By November this year, the number of viewers was about 568,000.

The Cable TV Rate Committee decided that the rates for Groups A and B will remain unchanged next year; the cable TV companies in Group C will lower their rates by 20 yuan, from 545 yuan to 525 yuan, and the remaining 9 cable TV companies will not adjust.

The central government set an upper limit of 1,500 yuan for the installation fee. Considering that the current fee of 1,000 yuan is too low for the industry, the committee agreed to increase the installation fee and the restoration fee (for applicants who apply after 3 months) to 1,200 yuan.

The Bureau of Observation and Communication stated that other extension fees, transfer fees, etc. will not be adjusted, and low-income households will cancel the exemption of extension fees.

Long-term subscribers next year will still enjoy discounts, including discounts of 10 yuan for bimonthly payments, 15 yuan for quarterly payments, 45 yuan for semi-annual payments, and 90 yuan for annual payments.

Exemption of installation fees and viewing fees for low-income households, and half-price discounts for low- and middle-income households’ viewing fees, also remain unchanged.

The Bureau of Viewing and Communication emphasized that the Tariff Committee has held three meetings since October this year, and invited cable TV operators to attend to explain the submitted fee information, and representatives of industry groups explained their views on the overall service and fees of cable TV.