Confusion in Kolkata over Digital TV
November 18, 2013
By Chris Forrester
Hundreds of thousands of cable TV homes in and around Kolkata in India could lose their analogue TV signals tonight (November 18th) when the MSO’s are obliged to switch off their signals.
The MSOs, led by SitiCable, are complying with the deadline set by media regulator the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) which set last Friday as the absolute cut-off data for analogue transmissions.
SitiCable’s local director Suresh Sethia told Indian Television that that it had collected 90 per cent of correctly completed, and all-important, Customer Application Forms (CAFs) which detail the channels that the customer wants to view. Without a CAF then the consumer will not have access to digital cable TV.
However, there remains massive confusion given that some MSOs say they are intending to continue analogue transmissions because many of their customers are simply not aware that the transition is happening. Other Local Cable Operators (LCOs) which retail signals in the suburban and semi-rural areas are arguing that they do not fall under the November 15th switch-off rule because they have part of their customer base in so-called Phase III regions, which have a later analogue switch-off date.
Regulator TRAI has to rule on these border area problems.