It is a good sign that CAS is not growing

A DTH operator has alleged that cable operators only disclose 20% of their
connections and hence license fee imposed on them is justified. Your comment?

DTH operators have been given added advantage. CAS is applicable on them but
they never discuss it. The second most important thing that should be noted is
that they have no limited boundary. They can sell their connection all across
India. It can be clearly observed that cable operators have not been given a
level playing field. Cable operators have to pay double the license fee than
that of the DTH operators. Cable operators are doubling up as tax collectors for
government.

What reason would you cite for less growth of CAS compared to DTH?

It shows that we are now close to saturation and there is need to move to a
new area. DTH has just started, therefore their growth percentage seems good.
But let days pass and you will get to see who wins! There are many homes in
India that prefer watching Doordarshan. They are only satisfied with cable.
Cable guys have given connections even in slum areas where it will be tough for
DTH operators to reach. We have a number of examples to show cable operators
have great growth potential but it is being ignored. All the channels that are
launched need backing of cable operators for their success.

It is pointed out that LCOs don't work in an organized manner and feed
channels as per their choice, which hampers quality of content delivery to
subscribers. Your comment?

This is the language of broadcasters. Broadcasters who are disorganized.
They keep launching a channel every now and then. Irony is that the government
is allowing them to do so without any restraint. Cables have limit to hold
approximately seventy channels but the government has given license to close to
300 television channels. It knows that most of the LCOs do not have rich
background. The government should look toward making the broadcaster work in an
organized manner and give equal weightage to cable operators compared to other
platforms.

What is being done by cable operators to improve the quality of service?

There are cable operators in India who have connected a number of villages
with optical fiber cables. Despite maintaining OFC, it is not an easy job,
rather an expensive affair. Despite the various challenges, LCOs are providing
incessant service to their subscribers and those who have deployed OFC have
learnt on their own.

Prasoon Srivastava

prasoons@cybermedia.co.in