MINISTRY OF I&B MONITORING
DIGITAL SWITCH OVER IN 38 CITIES
15 CITIES ACHIEVE NEARLY 100 %
DIGITIZATION
85% DIGITIZATION TARGET ACHIEVED DURING PHASE II OF DAS
The Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting has been consistently monitoring the progress made
regarding the switch over of Analogue Cable Television signals to Digital mode
as part of Digitization
during Phase II of the process, the deadline for which
ended on the midnight of 31st
March, 2013. The Minister for Information & Broadcasting,
Shri Manish Tewari has been reviewing the progress continuously keeping
consumer interest uppermost in mind. 38 cities in 15 States of India entered in
the Digital phase from 1st April, 2013.
As per the recent data compiled from
the industry by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, over 85% of
digitization has been achieved in these cities. Out of the 38 cities, 15 cities have achieved nearly 100%, 24 cities in all have achieved more than 75%
and 34 cities have achieved more than 50% Digitization. The review by the
Ministry also reveals that as against a target of 160 lakh Set Top Boxes (STBs)
, 136 lakh STBs have already been installed
by the Multi System Operators (MSOs) and Direct to Home(DTH) Operators. The
total number of installed Cable TV STBs stands at 91.5 lakhs whereas DTH
operators have installed a total of 44.5 lakhs STBs.
In three States i.e., Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat , stay orders have
been given by Hon’ble High Courts on the switch off of the analogue signals
till further orders. The process of
digitization, however, in other cities is in full swing. MSOs have reported that there is huge demand
for STBs which is being met by increased supply of STBs by air lifting of STBs.
Nodal Officers have reported to the
Ministry that in 5 states i.e Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, West
Bengal , Haryana and Union Territory of Chandigarh, analogue
signals have been completely switched off.
Ministry is in constant touch with the Nodal Officers and MSOs to ensure
that the cities in remaining states also speed up the process of digitization.
In the last one month alone about 40
lakh STBs have been installed in Phase II cities, which is a remarkable feat. Ministry had earlier carried out an extensive
Media campaign about Cable TV digitization, utilizing TV, Radio, Mobile phones
and Print Medium etc., to create awareness among people about the deadline,
benefits of digitization and the need for installing STBs. It is expected that digitization would usher
in a new era in broadcasting sector reforms by bringing more transparency in
the subscriber base. The entire process
of digitization would lead to several benefits for stake holders including
Government. Enhanced revenue by way of
improved tax recovery, enhanced TV viewing experience due to digital picture
quality and multiple choice of channels to the subscribers, are some of the
important benefits of digitization. Improved subscription revenue is also
expected to benefit broadcasters and cable industry. Digitization of Cable TV networks provides an
excellent opportunity to Cable Operators to provide competitive services to
their subscribers and help them to retain their business in the wake of competition
from DTH and other platforms.
Separately, TRAI has been convening
the meeting of Broadcasters, MSO and Cable Operators to sort out the issues pertaining
to agreements and service conditions.
The objective of the entire exercise
is to implement the process in a seamless, sustained yet sensitive manner that
causes the least amount of disruption to the consumer. Further, the Ministry has advised MSOs to
exercise utmost caution so that least amount of inconvenience is caused to
subscribers/consumers. Wherever
necessary the process has been implemented in a circumspect way so as to ensure
that consumers can get access to STBs.
1 comment:
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