DishTV hikes price of set-top box by Rs.100

The country's leading direct-to-home (DTH) service provider DishTV Monday hiked the price of set-top boxes (STB) by Rs.100 each, passing on a rise in customs duty to customers.

Now the STBs will cost Rs.1,590.

"It was a necessary step due to increase in input cost as there has been an escalation in the cost of STBs due to 5 percent increase in customs duty on the import of STBs," said Salil Kapoor, chief operating officer of DishTV.

The government imposed a 5 percent customs duty on STBs in the union budget for 2009-10.

"The business model of DTH is based on subsidy and the component cost has also gone up considerably due to the rise in dollar exchange rate in the last one year," Kapoor added.