High Court rejects Chennai cable operators plead for extn till 31 March, 2013

[tech_genie]

:new UPDATES: At the end of the thread

Chennai cable operators plead for more time
Cable operators in Chennai are now seeking to extend the TV digitisation deadline to March 31, 2013, citing shortage of set-top boxes. The operators’ associations have moved the Madras High Court, and the case comes up for hearing on December 24.

Besides shortage of set-top boxes, consumers in the city are confused, as many local cable operators (LCOs) have not yet chosen their multi-system operators (MSOs). The major reason is that the Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable Corporation Ltd, a dominant MSO in the State, is yet to get the digital addressable system (DAS )licence from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

According to sources, the State Government has broached the matter with the Prime Minister, and he has promised to look into the issue.

When contacted, D. Vivekanandan, Managing Director of Arasu Cable, told Business Line that he is hopeful of getting the licence very soon, as he sees no reason why Arasu Cable should not be given the licence.

Though only two – SCV and Jak Network — are active as of now, a total of eleven players have obtained DAS licences to operate in the city.

There are close to two million TVs in the city, and of this only six lakh homes are digitised (this includes DTH homes too) so far, says Vivekanandan.

A “substantial” number of local cable operators – catering to over 60 per cent of the analogue TV homes – have registered with Arasu Cable so far, he said. “We have signed contracts to import nine lakh set-top boxes. The first consignment of two lakh units is expected in the next couple of weeks, and the installation work will begin from the end of December.”

The Tamil Nadu Government too has sought an extension of the digitisation deadline till March 31.

Source: Business Line : News / States : Chennai cable operators plead for more time

 

[chermadurai]

RE: Chennai cable operators plead for extn till 31 March, 2013

Arasu cable signal in chennai which area. They lay full wire in all area i thick

 

[Karthik]

RE: Chennai cable operators plead for extn till 31 March, 2013

Same story continues.

 

[HOUSE-MD]

RE: Chennai cable operators plead for extn till 31 March, 2013

Yes, same story continues and SCV with its full time ad's seem to fight to keep their control in chennai's cable as a monopoly. Arasu has already connected all the chennai areas with their cable but they still dont has the DAS licence to send their signals. So as of now they cant connect to any subscriber unless they get their licence from the central Govt which seems highly difficult.

 

[chermadurai]

RE: Chennai cable operators plead for extn till 31 March, 2013

They can connect signal using cas lincense

 

[HOUSE-MD]

RE: Chennai cable operators plead for extn till 31 March, 2013

I dont think so, TRAI has made it compulsory to get licence for DAS to start beaming signals to any city under DAS. So even if Arasu tries use the small interim time to connect, when analogue signals end it has to stop its service.

If what you are telling is true then why cant Arasu atleast connect to all homes and give STB when available.

Would be great if DTH tariff comes down, sure a good percent of Chennai will move towards it. I wish chennai comes under full DAS before the new year 2013. Its damn painful with limited channels, cant decide whom to choose unless a clear verdict comes from Arasu. Again scared about Arasu's service if they launch. Though noone likes SCV's monopoly i never had any major cable connectivity issues. Will Arasu also follow the same quality business model?

 

[thilalangadi]

RE: Chennai cable operators plead for extn till 31 March, 2013

Chennai will never be digitized, it will be live only with SCV or never !
They have clout to change laws of the country to suit their family business, this is the irony, and Arasu cable will be a TN's biggest joke of 2012 at waste expense tax-payers money :wall

 

[HOUSE-MD]

RE: Chennai cable operators plead for extn till 31 March, 2013

Chennai will never be digitized, it will be live only with SCV or never !
They have clout to change laws of the country to suit their family business, this is the irony, and Arasu cable will be a TN's biggest joke of 2012 at waste expense tax-payers money :wall

Well said, all fate. wall

 

[tech_genie]

RE: Chennai cable operators plead for extn till 31 March, 2013

Chennai will never be digitized, it will be live only with SCV or never !
They have clout to change laws of the country to suit their family business, this is the irony, and Arasu cable will be a TN's biggest joke of 2012 at waste expense tax-payers money :wall

Well said, all fate. wall

It is a pity bro, there are so many loopholes and every time a deadline approaches, they use a new excuse

However the latest news is:

Cable TV digitization: Chennai to go digital soon as Madras HC refuses extension of deadline
With the Madras High Court refusing further extension of digitization deadline in Chennai, cable TV in the city is all set to go digital soon.

Chennai will be the third metro in the country to go digital after New Delhi and Mumbai.

Under Information and Broadcasting Ministry’s digital addressable system (DAS), all television households are compulsorily required to have digital set-top boxes that decode the broadcast signals. This can be done either with a set-top box for cable connections or with direct-to-home dish equipment.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on November 20 had updated a list of MSOs with DAS licences out of which eight had licences to operate in Chennai Metropolitan Area.

Senior Central government counsel Haja Mohideen Gisthi stated that with the non-extension of digitization deadline in Chennai, the Centre would action the digitization process in Chennai at the earliest. This comes after a series of deadline extensions.

Earlier, TN-government owned Arasu Cable TV Corporation filed a counter-affidavit seeking extension of the deadline up to March 31, 2013 due to short supply of set-top boxes (STB). It also observed that the additional time was required not only for the Arasu Cable TV Corporation but also for the multi-system operators (MSO).

SPK Goguldoss, President, Tamil Nadu Cable TV Service Providers Association, stated that the situation in Chennai remains the same as it was on July 1 and the main reason behind this is the unwillingness of MSOs to install the STBs. He further added that the Local Cable Operators (LCO) are not clear about whom to purchase the STBs from.

Sumangali Cable Vision, the cable division of Sun Network, which has been carrying out the STB installation process, does not have sufficient number of these boxes. Though LCOs are waiting for the Tamil Nadu government owned Arasu Cable TV Corporation to get on to the work, it has not yet received the license in this regard.

Trade experts have an apprehension that switch over of analogue signals to DAS will affect television viewership, resulting in loss of ad revenues.

Source: Cable TV digitization: Chennai to go digital soon as Madras HC refuses extension of deadline | TruthDiveTruthDive