STBs Alone Won'T Take The Country To A Digitised Era

The government mandated digitization has been partially successful and the second phase is under way with less than 20 days to the deadline to switch from analog cable to digital addressable systems (DAS), the industry experts believe that installing of set-top-boxes (STBs) alone will not take the country to a digitised era.

The government also feels that just one aspect of the drive and other aspects like subscriber management system (SMS) and billing system needs to be put in place if the real benefits of the digitisation drive have to be realised. Talking at a panel discussion during FICCI FRAMES, N Parameswaran, principal advisor of TRAI said that the stakeholders need to work towards having all the systems in place in order to implement digitisation in letter and spirit. Digitisation has not happened in a manner that we wanted to. It’s not a regulatory issue. The industry has to come together and ensure that that all the systems are in place from day one for phase 2. Moreover, there is no regulation in the pricing of HD, 3D channels and broadcasters can charge as much as they want for these channels,” Parameswaran said.

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/digitization-news/item/1915-stbs-alone-won-t-take-the-country-to-a-digitised-era.html