Niraj Rathod
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Rivalry between cable operators and DTH companies has come to the fore with growing instances of DTH jammers being used in parts of Mumbai and Delhi NCR to distort DTH signals. DTH firms like Tata Sky, Dish TV, Reliance Big TV, Videocon D2H and Airtel Digital TV have detected fresh cases of DTH jammers causing disruption of services in Mumbai.
The DTH Operators Association of India (DOAOI), which represents all DTH companies, has described the use of jammers as a threat to the national spectrum. In a strong worded letter sent to the department of telecommunications (DoT), Mumbai Police, and other security agencies, the DOAOI said, “This illegal activity has serious ramifications for the security communications as this can be used to disturb the RF spectrum.”
The move is being adopted to give a bad name to DTH services, which have almost wiped out cable connections from affluent parts of Mumbai and Delhi, said top executives of two leading direct-to-home (DTH) companies.
“Also with digitisation drive, more consumers are sending queries to DTH companies. Using jammers to block DTH signals selectively in affluent parts of the city is to promote cable usage,” said a senior executive of a leading DTH brand.
Speaking about the problem Harit Nagpal, MD and CEO of Tata Sky and president of DOAOI told FE, “This is a serious problem. We detected a similar instance in Noida some months ago. Police acted and arrested the culprits. Now we see this happening in Mumbai. This is not only illegal, but should raise alarm bells for security agencies too.” Nagpal, who was a speaker in the CASBAA seminar, said the government needs to take stock of the matter as it has become a law and order problem.
DOAOI has cited seven specific instances when DTH jammers caused problems to the DTH signals in Mumbai between February 18 and March 18 this year. These instances happened during the telecast of popular events, including key cricket matches of India with Australia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and on the telecast of Filmfare Awards on February 19.
“In Mumbai, we found the jammers in a water tank on a high-rise building. It was causing the DTH signals to freeze. Upon investigation we managed to triangulate the signals and then the police took over and arrested the culprits,” said another senior executive of a DTH firm.
Recently, the DOAOI also found out that a demand for DTH jammer has been placed on a leading online shopping website.
DTH in India operates on Ku-band between 11-15 GHz. The Ku-band frequency range is allocated to be exclusively used by satellite communication systems as it eliminates the problem of interference with other microwave systems. DTH services have gained popularity in India crossing 45 million subscriber base in five years of operation.
The DTH Operators Association of India (DOAOI), which represents all DTH companies, has described the use of jammers as a threat to the national spectrum. In a strong worded letter sent to the department of telecommunications (DoT), Mumbai Police, and other security agencies, the DOAOI said, “This illegal activity has serious ramifications for the security communications as this can be used to disturb the RF spectrum.”
The move is being adopted to give a bad name to DTH services, which have almost wiped out cable connections from affluent parts of Mumbai and Delhi, said top executives of two leading direct-to-home (DTH) companies.
“Also with digitisation drive, more consumers are sending queries to DTH companies. Using jammers to block DTH signals selectively in affluent parts of the city is to promote cable usage,” said a senior executive of a leading DTH brand.
Speaking about the problem Harit Nagpal, MD and CEO of Tata Sky and president of DOAOI told FE, “This is a serious problem. We detected a similar instance in Noida some months ago. Police acted and arrested the culprits. Now we see this happening in Mumbai. This is not only illegal, but should raise alarm bells for security agencies too.” Nagpal, who was a speaker in the CASBAA seminar, said the government needs to take stock of the matter as it has become a law and order problem.
DOAOI has cited seven specific instances when DTH jammers caused problems to the DTH signals in Mumbai between February 18 and March 18 this year. These instances happened during the telecast of popular events, including key cricket matches of India with Australia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, and on the telecast of Filmfare Awards on February 19.
“In Mumbai, we found the jammers in a water tank on a high-rise building. It was causing the DTH signals to freeze. Upon investigation we managed to triangulate the signals and then the police took over and arrested the culprits,” said another senior executive of a DTH firm.
Recently, the DOAOI also found out that a demand for DTH jammer has been placed on a leading online shopping website.
DTH in India operates on Ku-band between 11-15 GHz. The Ku-band frequency range is allocated to be exclusively used by satellite communication systems as it eliminates the problem of interference with other microwave systems. DTH services have gained popularity in India crossing 45 million subscriber base in five years of operation.
