Just a few days back fed up with the signal quality of a few channels that were put in the far end of the spectrum, I called my local cable guy and told him to remove the connection as I would be moving to DTH. He asked me to try the new digital Set Top Box that they were about to install. I agreed thinking what could I possibly lose? I was completely surprised when the new set top box was installed. The picture and sound quality was just like DTH. All my favourite channels were available and where of uniform quality. I am not the lone case. Cable operators across India in non CAS notified metros are migrating their networks to digital from their old analog systems in a big way. This is in the face of stiff competition from DTH operators who are weaning away a large number of cable subscribers with their better services.

TRAI on Friday asked the government to set a five-year timeframe for all cable TV operators to upgrade their analogue network to digital mode to compete with new distribution platforms, such as IPTV, HITS, besides improving their revenue earning prospects. The regulator, while acknowledging that spectacular growth of Indian Cable TV industry during the past two decades was due to the entrepreneurial skills of the local operators, has pointed out that the present mode of Cable TV transmission, which is predominantly analogue, has various limitations. “It (analogue systems) lacks scope for technological upgrade, appropriate addressability and efficient resource utilisation,” TRAI said. While existing operators will be given a five-year window, TRAI has said that new cable TV players must be mandated to have digital networks in place within a three-year timeframe. In its final recommendations, the regulator also added that Multi System Operators (MSOs), too, should be mandated to do away with analogue networks in five years.

Trai has also asked the government to implement regulations so that Cable TV operators become eligible for seeking Right of Way (RoW) for laying fiber underground as well as over poles on non exclusive basis. “Ministry of I&B may initiate a dialogue with the state governments to facilitate the formulation of uniform RoW policy for Cable TV operators,” TRAI added.

The reasons that digital scores over analog cable transmission in my view are

1. Since all channels are carried on a single channel using digital modulation, signal quality of all the channels is same, this is not the case in old analog systems. You might have experienced this at your homes where the initial channels have very good quality but as we start moving to the next channels the signal quality also starts deteriorating.

2. Digital technology also gives two-way communication capability to the cable box, so users can purchase pay-per-view programming without use of a telephone line, in addition to video on demand services and a secure signal.

3. By using digital mode the widespread practice of customer under declaration will be stopped. The local cable guys regularly understate the number of their subscribers thus causing large under recoveries for television channels. Now since every subscriber will need a set top box this would no longer be that easy to do.

4. New services like language selection, subtitle selection, changing of viewing angle while watching a live cricket match, storing of live feed etc which were earlier only available on DTH can now be easily deployed on the cable network as well.

In the coming few years if the government pursues this policy with much vigor, we are going to have a widespread deployment of digital cable throughout India. We have already witnessed the telecom revolution, rolling out of digital cable along with new technologies like DTH, IPTV and HITS could also in the near future bring about a revolution in Television broadcasting also.

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