Taking a cue from the fast-paced growth of direct-to-home (DTH) services in India, the government of Nepal has awarded six DTH licences to various Nepalese firms. These include the Chaudhary Group, manufacturer of the popular Wi-Wi noodles, Mercantile Computers, an ISP and VSAT operating firm, and Telco Investments, among others.
Most licencees have bagged the Nepalese DTH licence on their ability to host up to 60 television channels by shelling out around $70,000 as licence fees. So far, four DTH licences have been awarded within a week?s time. In India, the average time for obtaining a DTH licence has been one year for the existing six private DTH operators.
DTH experts in India sense a business opportunity in Nepal as there are only around a dozen local television channels compared to around 45 foreign channels including a majority from India.
Sources say several cable operators and broadcasters are in talks with their counterparts in Nepal to form an alliance. ?Only Nepalese firms can operate in Nepal. However, because of experience and expertise of Indian players, several firms are talking to the Nepalese operators for business opportunities,? a top executive of a leading domestic teleport firm said.
Nepal is considered a low average revenue per user market and there are only around 1 million cable homes scattered across the hilly terrain. And because of a tough geographical spread of cable subscribers, the Nepalese government found DTH as a practical solution.
Currently, only a handful of cable operators are providing channels to around 4-5 lakh homes.