According to the Unidad de Control y Supervisión de Cable (UNCOSU, an entity under the scope of the Ministry of Communications, Infrastructure and Housing) (Cable Control and Supervision Unit), there are about 450 pay television companies registered with the regulator, but an estimated of 500 firms operate in rural areas, informally. Considering the fees that are not paid to the programmers and the taxes that the State does not perceive due to illegality, the losses for the industry are around US$51 million per year.