Well begun, but not half done

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Sudipta Datta: Oct 10 2012, 04:20 IST

When the government passed an ordinance on compulsory digitisation of the television industry’s distribution system by December 2014, most players in the industry saw it as a life-changing opportunity but realised that it wouldn’t be easy to install millions of set-top boxes on time to make the switch. But implementation of even phase 1 of the project—digitisation of four metros, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata—is proving to be a huge task. One deadline, June 30, has already been missed and now the industry is worried that the October 31 deadline too might be difficult to keep.

Already, the West Bengal and Tamil Nadu governments have written to the Centre to extend the deadline once again by at least three more months. Bengal urban development minister Firhad Hakim tells FE that many of the MSOs (multi-system operators) have not been able to supply set-top boxes to consumers. “It is not possible for the MSOs to meet the deadline since they have received only 40-50% of set-top boxes (STBs),” he says.

According to E&Y analysts, it is estimated that India has 127 million cable and satellite homes, of which around 32 million are direct-to-home or DTH, seven million digital cable and 88 million analogue cable homes. Industry estimates point out that the distribution business will need to invest around R7,500 crore in the digitisation process, with phase I in the four metros requiring R1,100 crore. Digitisation will bring transparency in the distribution system, consumers will have more choice and the quality of broadcasting will

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