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At least five to six million homes in the four metros may have to go without their daily dose of TV from July 1, if the Government shuts down analogue signals, as proposed.
The deadline for the first phase of mandatory digitisation is June 30. According to the Digitisation Bill, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata should have digital networks in place before the deadline, or households in these cities will not be able to watch TV without set-top boxes (STBs) thereafter.
“It's very unlikely to happen, and the cable industry may seek a three-month breather from the Government,” says a senior official from a multi-system operator present in over 14 cities across the country.
Huge investments
Mr D. Vivekanandan, Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable Corporation, too said it does not seem possible to meet the deadline as it calls for huge investments to procure at least 20 lakh STBs and to set up head-ends (control rooms with equipment to decrypt and encrypt digital signals) in the next few months.
According to industry data, in all four metros put together, there are over 10 million analogue TV homes that need to be digitised. As organised MSOs (multi-system operators) such as Hathway Cable, Den Network, Wire and Wireless and Incablenet cater to these cities (except in a few pockets), the optical fibre cable network and head-ends are already in place. But procuring 10 million set-top boxes and seeding them within the next five months could prove a deterrent, sources say.
However, according to a spokesperson from Den Network, the company has made arrangements to procure enough STBs and is well placed to meet the deadline.
As each STB would cost around Rs 1,500, the minimum investment required to import (India does not manufacture set-top boxes) them will be Rs 1,500 crore. MSOs may not be able to mobilise that kind of money. Moreover, the Government too has not approved the I&B Ministry's recommendations to waive Customs duty on STBs and increase the FDI limit for the cable industry from the current 49 per cent to 74 per cent, says Ms Namrata Sharma, an analyst with PINC Research.
Besides, she adds, 25 per cent of the subscribers in the metros may not be able to afford an STB, unless the MSO offers it free of cost.
Greater challenges
Mr Vikram Mehra, Chief Marketing Officer of the DTH service provider TataSky, says creating awareness among end users, building efficient billing and customer support systems and training people for STB installation could be greater challenges. However, he said, the company is gearing up well on all these counts and is confident of meeting the deadline.
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