Need more time for digitisation: Kolkata cable operators

A section of cable operators here Thursday demanded at least two months for complete digitisation of cable TV in the city.

The forum of cable operators in the city, Cable Shilpa Bachao Committee, said “forced digitisation would hit the customers” and that the metropolis was not yet ready for complete digitisation as only 65 percent of the total customers have installed set-top boxes.

Needs deadline extensions (image credit: GettyImages)

“Until and unless the set-top boxes are available to a minimum of 90 percent of the customers, blocking of analogue channels should not occur. At least 60 days would be needed for the process to be completed,” Cable Shilpa Bachao Committee convener Mrinal Chatterjee said here.

“About 25 lakh customers in Kolkata have installed the set-top boxes till date. It is not more than 65 percent of the total cable customers in the city,” Chatterjee said.

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According to him, the problem started with the multi-system operators or MSOs procuring less set-top boxes."

As MSOs were not able to procure the boxes in time, there had been a non-availability here," Chatterjee averred.

Earlier, in a meeting with state Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim all city-based cable operators and MSOs had forwarded a proposal for ordering a complete blocking of analogue channels by Feb 1.

IANS