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With the March 31, 2013 deadline for DAS Phase II just 45 days away, it seems like a repeat of the Phase I problems with chaotic arrangements in the 38 cities across 15 states covered in the second phase.
Gujarat has four major cities – Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara – covered in Phase II. All four cities are witnessing lack of interest from consumers, besides being hampered by the lengthy process of installing the set top boxes (STBs) and also shortage of STBs. This has led to doubts about whether the March 31 deadline will be met.
Talking to exchange4media, Kanaksinh Rana, Director, Gujarat Telelink said, “The installation of STBs is proceeding smoothly, however, I am not sure about meeting the March 31 deadline due to scarcity of boxes.”
According to Hasankhan Gulamadir Pathan, an Ahmedabad-based cable operator, “There are two prominent issues. The first is lack of interest from consumers. They have a perception that if the deadline can be delayed in the metro cities, other cities too can get a relief of 3-6 months. The second issue is the low supply of set top boxes. Currently, only 20 per cent of the STB installation has been done in Ahmedabad.”
Agreeing with Pathan, Kausar Ajmeri, another cable operator from Ahmedabad, said, “The demand for the boxes is 100 per cent, but the supply is only 20-25 per cent. Due to this we will not be able to complete the installation of set top boxes in the city by the deadline date.”
The operators in Ahmedabad further said that people are habituated with the analogue channels and are not ready to pay more than Rs 200 for their cable connections. This trend is seen across economic groups and people are reluctant to invest a bigger sum to buy set top boxes.
Meanwhile, cable operators in Rajkot are being stonewalled by consumer apathy towards installation of STBs and also by the lengthy installation procedure.
Read More: DAS Phase II: LCOs in Gujarat want deadline postponed
Gujarat has four major cities – Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara – covered in Phase II. All four cities are witnessing lack of interest from consumers, besides being hampered by the lengthy process of installing the set top boxes (STBs) and also shortage of STBs. This has led to doubts about whether the March 31 deadline will be met.
Talking to exchange4media, Kanaksinh Rana, Director, Gujarat Telelink said, “The installation of STBs is proceeding smoothly, however, I am not sure about meeting the March 31 deadline due to scarcity of boxes.”
According to Hasankhan Gulamadir Pathan, an Ahmedabad-based cable operator, “There are two prominent issues. The first is lack of interest from consumers. They have a perception that if the deadline can be delayed in the metro cities, other cities too can get a relief of 3-6 months. The second issue is the low supply of set top boxes. Currently, only 20 per cent of the STB installation has been done in Ahmedabad.”
Agreeing with Pathan, Kausar Ajmeri, another cable operator from Ahmedabad, said, “The demand for the boxes is 100 per cent, but the supply is only 20-25 per cent. Due to this we will not be able to complete the installation of set top boxes in the city by the deadline date.”
The operators in Ahmedabad further said that people are habituated with the analogue channels and are not ready to pay more than Rs 200 for their cable connections. This trend is seen across economic groups and people are reluctant to invest a bigger sum to buy set top boxes.
Meanwhile, cable operators in Rajkot are being stonewalled by consumer apathy towards installation of STBs and also by the lengthy installation procedure.
Read More: DAS Phase II: LCOs in Gujarat want deadline postponed
