The government's approval of a fee hike by pay television service Astro reveals that it is unconcerned about the rising cost of living, according to NGO Jingga 13.

Its secretary DK Vicknesvaran said the increase comes at a time when people are already burdened by the impact of reduction or removal of subsidies on petrol and sugar, and proposed 12-year limit on the life span of cars on the road.

astro satellite dish “We call on Astro to cancel the fee hike ... We want Astro and the Information, Communication and Multimedia Ministry, which approved it, to (understand) the suffering of the people,” he said.

Astro has informed subscribers that it will charge an additional RM2 for the Family Pack and RM6 more for the Sports Pack.

With effect from Nov 24, the Family Pack will be priced at RM39.95 and the Sports Pack at RM82.95.

“Astro has (earned) billions of (ringgit in) profit from customers, so there is no excuse to increase the price of services,” Vicknesvaran said.

He noted that the quality of broadcast has still not improved, as reception is disrupted during thunderstorms. At the same time, programmes are constantly repeated.

NONE To back its call, Jingga 13 has launched a public awareness campaign by distributing leaflets at KL Sentral, urging the public to boycott Astro.

It plans to produce a one-minute video to be released via Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and blogs, which it hopes will go viral.

“This video will reveal problems that customers face. If Astro proceeds with the fee hike, we will go to the headquarters in Bukit Jalil and hand in a memorandum of protest,” Vicknesvaran said.

He proposed that the licence for satellite television broadcast be opened to other providers to break Astro's monopoly and bring down prices.

Responding to criticism earlier this month, Astro chief operating officer Henry Tan had defended the fee hike, citing the high cost of broadcasting global sports events.

He reportedly told Star that the cost of airing the Barclays Premier League had risen by 2,000 percent since 1997.