That is, installing two, three or more cable systems in one area does not pay for economic reasons. The concession holder thus enjoys a monopoly in the area that it covers. In order to prevent any abuse of monopoly status, it is customary for the subscription rate to be controlled and approved by the body that grants the concession. Furthermore, additional conditions for the concession holder can be fixed. The subscription rate for the existing systems in Croatia is arbitrarily fixed by the network owners, although the law stipulates that the subscription rate must be approved by the Telecommunications Council and by the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
Some system operators charge their subscription monthly, but most charge annually.
Current cable subscription rates are substantially lower than in the USA and western Europe, the reason probably being the fact that operators in Croatia do not pay any royalties to the owners of the channels being broadcast by satellite. CNN, RTL, PRO 7 and other channels are broadcast via satellite uncoded. However, receiving signals for private use is one thing, but distributing them for a charge to other users is quite another. In principle, every cable network operator must make an agreement on reception and distribution with the owner of the channel being broadcast by satellite. Royalties must be paid for the right to receive and distribute programmes.