New Delhi: Analogue Cable Television signals were switched off by the
Broadcasters and Multi System Operators (MSOs) at midnight of 31st October,
2012 in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Analogue Cable TV signals were allowed to
continue in Chennai due to the interim stay granted by the Hon’ble High Court
of Madras.
A total of 64.31 lakh
Set Top Boxes (STBs) have been installed in the 4 metro cities in the first
phase of digitization during the span of about 10 months from November 2011 i.e
from the date of notification. First phase of digitization covers 4 metro cities
of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. As per 2011 Census figures, a total of
103.76 lakh households are there in 4 metro cities. At an average rate of 80%
TV penetration as per the Census, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
had estimated that about 82.59 lakh households will have TV sets. After
deducting 28.14 lakh DTH connections , it was estimated that there would be
65.34 lakh Cable TV subscribers who would require Set Top Boxes.
As per the data
provided by the MSOs , the percentage of digitization in Delhi has gone up to
101%. In Mumbai it is 118% whereas in Kolkata it is 85% and in Chennai it
stands at 63%.
Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting had notified necessary amendments in Cable
Television Networks Rules 1995 to create an enabling environment for Cable TV
digitization. TRAI had also brought out necessary regulatory framework by
notifying Tariff, Inter Connection, Complaint Redressal System and Quality of
Service Regulations. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has also issued
53 provisional registrations to MSOs to operate in DAS areas.
Ministry had embarked
on an aggressive Public Awareness Campaign in the Electronic and Print Media. 6
Video spots and 12 Radio jingles were brought out by the Ministry for broadcast
on Television and radio. An intensive SMS Campaign was also launched on the
Mobile phones. Additionally cinema slides and hoardings on bus shelters etc,
were also put up. The ‘Blackout Advertisement’ carried out by the Ministry on
all prominent Television channels created a massive public awareness about the
digitization deadline. More than 200 channels carried the ‘blackout
advertisement’ of the Ministry on the same day and time in a synchronized
fashion which is a record of sorts.
Ministry has been closely
monitoring procurement and progress of installation of STBs by various MSOs
regularly. Additionally, data was also collected from DTH operators on a daily
basis. A Special Task Force was constituted to steer the entire process which
consisted of various stakeholders. The Task Force met on fortnightly basis and
held 20 meetings so far. Ministry also launched a Facebook account and started
a special website on digitization. Sub-Groups constituted by the ministry for
national level MSOs, independent MSOs and Local Cable Operators helped the
Ministry to get a feed back from ground. Extensive field visits were taken up
by officials from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and technical
teams from BECIL which is a Public Sector Undertaking of the I&B Ministry.
The field visits were taken to assess the ground realities and provide
continuous feedback so that the digitization process could incorporate the
learning from the field.
A Toll free number
was also designated to answer queries of people about digitization. In the
countdown to the digitization, Ministry has set up a Control Room with 5
telephone lines to provide clarifications to people and answer their queries.
The Control Room of the Ministry received more than 5000 calls within a span of
15 days.
Digital Cable TV
system has a number of inherent advantages such as Electronic Programme Guide
(EPG) which gives the information for the current programme as well as the
programmes to come up. It also provides features like Movies-on-Demand and Games.
A cable subscriber in digital system has facility to log in their complaints
either on the Toll free number or in the Subscriber Complaint Redressal System
on the web, wherein redressal of the complaint can be tracked. The consumer has
a choice to select channel packages as per their choice or to select from
a-la-carte list. The bill is generated by the system as per the channels chosen
by the Cable subscriber. In addition to these special features the digital
cable TV system provides superior picture and sound of digital quality and the
consumer have a choice to select from a wide range of channels which was
limited to only about 80-90 channels in an analogue system. The consumer can
also subscribe to the HD channels. Digital Cable TV system will also enable the
provision of Triple Play services on the same Cable TV network wherein in
addition to the TV programmes, internet, radio, telephony etc., would also be
available through the same cable line.
Ministry has
instructed all MSOs to certify that their analogue signals have been switched
off completely. They have also been asked to set up canopies/kiosks in poorer
colonies to ensure Set Top Boxes are made available to them at the determined
price of Rs 799/-on the spot. MSOs have also been asked to ensure the consumer
is not overcharged for the Set Top Boxes. MSOs have also been advised to
advertise their complaint number so that nobody takes any undue advantage of
the situation.
The technical teams
deployed by the Ministry in the field are constantly on the move to inspect the
head ends of the MSOs in Delhi and Mumbai. It has been reported that analog
signals have been switched off from all the head ends in Delhi and Mumbai while
Kolkata has given mixed reports.