29.12.12

Kolkata misses digital deadline again


Kolkata missed yet another digitization deadline with the state government warning multi-service operators (MSOs) against towing the Centre’s analog signal switch-off diktat. Though all English general entertainment, English and Hindi news, sports, music, devotional and kids’ channels went off the air at more than 90% of cable homes in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area, Bengali channels—both entertainment and news—and Hindi entertainment channels that serve the daily doze of entertainment in 4 million cable homes, continued to be beamed in the city and its suburbs. Cable operators are also beaming the Indo-Pak matches in a local channel by converting the digital signal to analog.
MSOs in Delhi and Mumbai have already switched off analog transmission and are on board the digitization drive. But in Kolkata and Chennai, the switchover has hit a hurdle with chief ministers Mamata Banerjee and J Jayalalitha refusing to switch off analog transmission and cause inconvenience to lakhs of low-income households that cannot afford the hike in charges once the switchover takes place. The current low pricing in analog connections is based on under-declaration of subscriber base by operators. While Jayalalithaa went to court and got a stay order on the digitization rollout in Chennai, Mamata decided to use pressure tactics and warned MSOs that going against the state’s will would incur the government’s wrath.
Though the I&B ministry had earlier threatened to cancel the licence of MSOs in Kolkata if they did not switch off all analog channels on Thursday, sources said officials had softened their stand following a letter from the MSOs last week, explaining how it was sandwiched between divergent orders from two ends.
While law and order may pose a challenge, nowhere has conversion from one platform to another happened without a section of the population taking the hit.

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