40 Lakh TVs Go Blank On April 1

The Information and broadcasting ministry sources claimed that 75% of the 1.6 crore households had shifted to set top boxes (STBs) and it estimates that 40 lakh TV screens went blank across the country on April 1st, 2013.

Cities including Srinagar, Coimbatore and Visakhapatnam were lagging with less than 30% of households switching over while a court stay in Bangalore and cities in Gujarat slowed down progress there. While there was no question of an extension to any state, efforts would be made so that the transition was as seamless as possible.

I&B secretary U K Varma said, "We are giving people transition time of 5-7 days. The important thing is that the technology has been accepted and we hope to achieve full digitization soon.'' I&B ministry has been reviewing progress of phase II on a daily basis and as per the latest data, 75% of the target had been achieved in the 38 cities. As per data received from direct-to-home operators and MSOs, a total of 1.2 crore STBs had been installed in phase II cities against the target of 1.6 crore, the ministry said.

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/digitization-news/item/2090-40-lakh-tvs-go-blank-on-april-1.htmlhttp://cablequest.org/news/digitization-news/item/2090-40-lakh-tvs-go-blank-on-april-1.html