Digitization Deadline ends, Lakhs of TV go blank, 89% achieved

[tech_genie]

Cable digitisation deadline ends, hundreds of TV screens go blank

New Delhi: Television sets without set top boxes (STBs) in hundreds of households across Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata went blank as the deadline for switch over to cable TV digitisation ended this midnight.

People watching various programmes faced a TV blackout when the clock struck 12. However, in some areas of Kolkata, the television sets without STBs were found to be working.

In Mumbai, nearly 20 per cent of the households have not installed STBs.

Information and Broadcasting Ministry's data for all the four metros combined showed digitisation of cable TV households including Direct To Home (DTH) connections up to 94 per cent.

TV viewers in Chennai who have not made the change, however, got some relief with the Madras High Court granting extension of the deadline till November 5 for the process of digitisation of TV signals.

The Bombay High Court, however, refused to grant more time to cable network providers in the city to switch to digital addressable system (DAS). But it asked the Union government to consider giving some relief to viewers during Diwali.

According to ministry figures, Delhi has achieved a 97 per cent digitisation (including DTH connections) while in Kolkata it is up to 85 per cent.

Source: Cable digitisation deadline ends, hundreds of TV screens go blank | NDTV.com


SIMILAR NEWS HERE: 89% Digitization achieved

Deadline issued by Information and Broadcasting Ministry in four Metro cities Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai to switch to digital TV has ended today.
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting released data of the digitalization achieved in the four cities as on 30th October 2012:
____________________________________________________
In Mumbai the percentage of digitization is 100%.

In Delhi digitization is 92% and with DTH it is 95%.

In Kolkata digitization has crossed 82% and with DTH it goes up to 85%.

In Chennai digitization has reached 62% and with DTH it goes up to 86%.
__________________________________________________
Overall in 4 metro cities Cable TV digitization has reached 89% and with DTH, the percentage goes up to 93%.
As the deadline ends, people who don't have a set top box won't be able to watch TV.
Under The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2011, complete digitization of cable TV in India has been made mandatory by the end of year 2014.
This will take place in four phases where people must switch to digital signals. Digitalization in 4 metro cities is the first of the four-stage process.
I & B Ministry had launched an aggressive public awareness campaign for creating awareness among the masses about the need for Set Top Box for their Cable TV system.

Source: Deadline of Cable TV Digitization ends in 4 metros, 89% achieved

 

[tech_genie]

RE: Cable TV Digitization Deadline ends, hundreds of TV go blank, 89% achieved


Half a million homes stare at TV blackout: HT

The government deadline for installing home-end devices for a compulsory digital upgrade at five million cable TV households in four metros ended Wednesday.

But 9%, or about 500,000, homes are staring at a blackout as they haven't made the switch. In Delhi, nearly 5% households are likely to face a blackout, while 17% households remain uncovered in Kolkata and 38% cable homes in Chennai may wake up to blank screens, government figures showed. Only Mumbai had achieved a 100% changeover.
In a nation where TV watching is a national pastime, an outage may escalate into a political showdown and add to the UPA government's worries. Political opposition in Maharashtra and West Bengal may prompt strikes by neighbourhood operators.

"We intend to move the Supreme Court," Anil Parab of Mumbai's Cable Operators' Distributors Association said.

And the move is being backed by the opposition Shiv Sena.

In Kolkata, chief minister Mamata Bannerjee has vowed to resist digitisation.

A supplier in Delhi said there was a shortage of imported set-top boxes.

"I am yet to get delivery of set-top boxes worth R10 lakh. It will take time," said HS Kohli, a stake-owner in Digicable, one of the five large firms that supply local cable distributors.

Low-income households used to cheap cable tariffs are the ones slowest to switch, which requires them to buy set-tops worth Rs. 799, excluding taxes. The information and broadcasting ministry, however, said its ground teams were making good progress.

In December 2011, Parliament passed a Bill to digitise the cable television sector by 2014.

The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Bill 2011 provides for compulsory digitisation, a move prompted by largescale under-reporting of subscribers by cable distributors, which ultimately hurts government revenue.

Source: Half a million homes stare at TV blackout - Hindustan Times

 

[tech_genie]

RE: Digitization Deadline ends, hundreds of TV go blank, 89% achieved

The Hindu predicts the figure of TV Sets going Blank even higher

2 m TV sets may go blank as digitisation deadline ends

CHENNAI, OCT 31:
With multi-system operators in the metros — barring Chennai — set to switch off analogue TV signals to comply with the Union Government order, close to two million households in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata will go without TV programmes from early Thursday, say industry sources.

The Madras High Court's stay on the digitisation deadline till Monday means analogue signals will continue to be beamed in Chennai till Monday.

According to a senior Ministry of Information and Broadcasting official, the switching off of signals in New Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai will go as per plan.

The Government got a shot-in-the-arm as the Bombay High Court today dismissed the plea for a stay on digitisation.

By government estimates, nearly 94 per cent of television households have been digitised across four metros. However, figures from local multi-system operators (MSOs) put the total digitisation in the 60-65 per cent range.

A spokesperson of an MSO with operations in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, said at least five lakh homes in Mumbai alone will go without TV entertainment from Thursday. In Kolkata and Delhi the number could be much more.

K. Jayaraman, Managing Director and CEO, Hathway Cable & Datacom, which has installed about 15 lakh set-top boxes in the three cities, said there was no shortage of boxes. Ravi Mansukhani, MD, Incablenet, which has deployed about one million boxes, said some of the low-income households are still shifting to set-top boxes. “We anticipate some households will face a blackout in these three cities.”

In Kolkata, according to sources, nearly 16 lakh households had installed set-top boxes till Wednesday. Four major MSOs control about 40 lakh cable TV connections. Operators said 10-15 per cent users would digitise their connections only after the blackout.

In Chennai, contrary to the I&B Ministry’s claim of 85 per cent digitisation, cable operators say hardly 65 per cent of TV homes in the city are digitised.

D. Vivekanandan, Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation Ltd, says the I&B Ministry’s statistics refer to the Chennai revenue district. “However, if we consider Greater Chennai, which is the CAS area, the number of analogue homes would be much more.”

Cable operators say there are close to four million TV homes in Chennai. Of these, only about nine lakh homes are digitised (seven lakh homes have DTH and the rest cable with set-top boxes). Arasu’s MD said the Government has sought extension of the deadline to December 31. The State Government-run cable TV operator has placed orders for one million boxes in the first phase. “The procurement process is on, and we expect the first consignment of boxes to arrive by the end of November,” he said.

(With inputs from Ayan Pramanik in Kolkata)

Source: Business Line : Industry & Economy / Marketing : 2 m TV sets may go blank as digitisation deadline ends

 

[tech_genie]

News countered by Ministry

New Delhi: With aggressive seeding of digital set-top boxes (STBs) in the four metros, only 6-7 lakh cable subscribers, or 6% of the cable home universe in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, may see a blackout of their cable services from Thursday with the digitisation deadline ending on the midnight of Wednesday. Cable consumers in Chennai, however, have an extended deadline of November 5.
On its part, the ministry made it clear that it is geared up to cancel or suspend the licences of MSOs who fail to comply with the digitisation drive. “All the hard work of the I&B ministry has paid dividends. We have managed to cover 94% of the cable homes in metros,” a senior official in the I&B ministry said.

According to the data released by the I&B ministry, over 6.23 million out of 6.5 million (94%) of the cable homes are now connected with the mandatory STB. “Coupled with DTH boxes, barring 6 lakh homes, all cable homes in the metros have an access to digital STB, says the certified data submitted by the MSOs to the ministry. Only around 2 lakh homes in Chennai remain to be seeded with an STB,” a government official said.

When asked what action will be taken against the erring cable operators, the official said as per law, the cancellation of LCO licences is the prerogative of the respective states. “We can send show cause notices to MSOs in whose area there are no boxes.”

Source: Only fraction of houses to go cable-less from Nov 1: I&B min

 

[Ravishankar Krishnamoorthy]

Why no switch off in chennai chennai i dont think they will switch off how can madras high court go against government orders here in chennai no one seems bothered as they know they will approach cm and get it infinetedly extended

 

[HOUSE-MD]

Why no switch off in chennai chennai i dont think they will switch off how can madras high court go against government orders here in chennai no one seems bothered as they know they will approach cm and get it infinetedly extended

Yes, these people are famous for extending anything indefinitely and denying the service that people are deserve to receive.