The cable operators are irked by the delay some of whom had signed agreements with the company in December 1997. The company has sent letters to all the cable operators, explaining the reasons for the delay and regretting the same.

Earlier, RPG Netcom had claimed that it had already signed agreements with 70 per cent of the cable operators in the Calcutta. Its main competitor is Siti Cable which entered the market a couple of years ago.

The management feels that it will take another two to three months before it can provide connections to the operators. However, finance manager S Chatterjee observed that at this juncture it would be difficult to say exactly how soon the connections would be given to all the operators who have signed up.

According to a letter written by seniormarketing manager V Chari of RPG Netcom to a cable operator, there were several uncontrollable factors due to which the company could not meet its commitment. The letter cites three reasons for the delay in laying the fibre-optic cables in some places which have resulted in delay in providing connections to the cable operators in these areas.

Chari's letter pointed out that there has been a severe cable shortage in the market. It says, "Our suppliers have not been able to despatch our ordered materials because of their own internal problems."

When contacted by The Financial Express, Chatterjee said that all the fibre-optic cables for the network are being imported from the United States and Belgium.

The union government had earlier proposed eight per cent duty on fibre-optical cables and later rolled it back to four per cent. This, according to Chatterjee, had delayed the whole process.