New Delhi : Cable operators don't have much to lose with the entry of DTH service. Even as the group of ministers (GoM) on October 29-the meet will be headed by the Home Minister, Mr LK Advani-is all set to give a clearance to the much hyped direct to home (DTH) TV service, cable operators are not complaining. At least, not in the face of it. Says Mr Suzail Waris, head of Extravision under Spectranet: ``DTH is mainly targeted at the remote and hilly areas, where cable penetration is low. Since cable operators find it too expensive to set up operations at remote areas, DTH will come as a boon for these regions.'' In other words, cable operators based in the metros will not be affected by the entry of DTH.In metros, the DTH market is not expected to be very big for two reasons. Says Ms Roop Sharma, president, Cable Operators' Association: ``One, television through cable is much cheaper than DTH.'' Although the pricing for DTH service has not been fixed yet, industry estimates indicate that the installation cost of the saucer-like dish along with the decoder will be in the range of Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000. Plus, there's a monthly fee of approximately Rs 500-600. Compare it with the cost of a cable connection in metros-just a monthly fee of Rs 150-200. The second reason why DTH may not have a big market in the metros is that cable network offers a much larger number of channels than DTH would-at least initially, said Ms Sharma.
Mr Waris gives an example: "If Star gets the ownership of DTH, it will offer all the Star channels along with some premium channels, leaving out the channels of the rival group.'' In effect, the DTH offering won't be so wholesome. Adds Mr Waris: ``Such a scenario may even help cable operators increase their subscription rates."
However, in remote areas it's a different situation altogether. For instance, a farm house resident at Mehrauli (Delhi) was recently asked to pay Rs 1.5 lakh for a cable connection in the plea that laying a long cable costs that much more, according to Ms Sharma. Another reason why cable operators, who are not in the big league feel that their business will not go down with the entry of DTH is that the new delivery system is expected to end the cable monopoly. And more than anything else, cable operators have realised that the only way to beat competition is to grow with the latest technology.
Says Col KK Sharma, chief editor, Cable Quest: ``The beauty of DTH is the much smaller size of the dish. This dish is able to receive even a weak signal from the satellite and then transmit it as a strong signal to the subscriber.'' The technology, feels Col Sharma, will make others in the fraternity mature. However, a section of cable operators has some fears. Says Mr Rakesh Datta, general secretary, Cable Net Association (CNA): ``If DTH is allowed without a proper legal mechanism and without a cross-service restriction, it will kill the cable on ground.' '
Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.