IBM to Provide SMS to Manthan for Digital Networks

The cable TV Multi-System Operator (MSO) Manthan Broadband Services in Kolkata has entered in to a contract with IBM India for the maintenance of its Subscribers’ Management System (SMS) as part of its ambitious plan to install nearly 3,000,000 set top boxes in the eastern region by end-2014.

The deal’s estimated value is approximately Rs.120 crore. As per internal sources, IBM has been developing the software for Manthan’s SMS for more than one year now.

Sudip Ghosh, Manthan Director, said, “The system will enable subscribers to exercise their choice of services and budget their bills accordingly. It will also help us manage their accounting and billing of services rendered more effectively in the long term. The investment would ensure the best infrastructure including network, encryption, ERP, SMS and call centre.”

As per the Digital Addressable Cable TV System (DAS) rules, all MSOs should provide SMS options to subscribers and have details of subscribers, including their choice of services like channels and bouquets. However, several MSOs were not implementing this feature effectively. Also, local cable operators (LCOs) were not providing completed subscriber application forms to their linked MSOs for feeding to complete data in the SMS systems.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had recently pulled up all MSOs and LCOs for this reason.

Manthan Broadband today caters to 30 lakh households in the East. The MSO has penetration in areas like Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Baraipur and Chandannagar among others. It is also operating in other states like Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand.

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/digitization-news/item/3164-ibm-to-provide-sms-to-manthan-for-digital-networks.htmlSource: http://cablequest.org/news/digitization-news/item/3164-ibm-to-provide-sms-to-manthan-for-digital-networks.html