Ready to meet digitalisation deadline: Cable TV operators

Kolkata, June 1 (IANS) With digitalisation of television networks in all four metros of the country due on July 1 this year,cable operators and multiple system operators (MSOs) Friday said they were ready to meet the deadline with the necessary infrastructure.

As per the time-frame set by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai have to switch over from analogue to digital transmission by July 1, 2012, and the rest of the country by 2014.

This would be done through installation of a set top box in every household with a TV set.

"We are ready to meet the July 1 deadline. Set top boxes are ready, and so is the infrastructure," Swapan Chowdhury of the Cable Operators Federation of India said at an event here organised by the Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BNCCI).

Welcoming the switch over, two leading MSOs, SITI Cable and Manthan Broadband Services, said that digitalisation would create transparency in the cable TV system by accurate reporting of subscriber numbers, and permit more channels as well as improved quality.

"Digitalisation is a win-win situation for everyone- the government in the form of increased revenue, broadcasters, MSOs and cable operators," SITI Cable's Soumen Roychoudhury said.

Subho Chatterjee of Manthan Broadband Services said that cable operators and MSOs would have to invest about Rs 100 billion for digitalisation across India, which counts among those countries with the largest cable TV industries.

"About 250 channels are awaiting approval," Chatterjee added.