ITV

Category: Cable TV

  • DEN Networks gets new CEO in Pradeep Parameswaran

    DEN Networks gets new CEO in Pradeep Parameswaran

    MUMBAI: Multi system operator (MSO) DEN Networks has roped in Pradeep Parameswaran as its new chief executive officer (CEO). The position was left vacant after SN Sharma, one of the founding members of DEN Networks quit in September 2014.

     

    Parameswaran   joins   DEN  from McKinsey  and  Co  where  he  was  a partner  and  was  leading  the telecoms,  media  and  technology practice  in  India  and  of  the  operations  and  technology  function  within  telecoms,  media  and technology in Asia.

     

    He holds an engineering   degree from   Mumbai   University   with a Masters in Management Studies from Jamnalal Bajaj and an MBA from Vanderbilt University in the US. Besides McKinsey, he has also worked with Hindustan Unilever and AT Kearney.

  • Den Networks receives shareholder nod for borrowings and issue of ESOPS

    Den Networks receives shareholder nod for borrowings and issue of ESOPS

    BENGALURU: Scrutinizers NKJ & Associates have informed the Den Networks Limited (Den Networks) board that its shareholders have approved by a very healthy majority the nine special resolutions by it for borrowing against hypothecation of its assets and issuance of employee stock options (ESOP) to the employees of Den Networks and directors of its associates and subsidiary companies

     

    13,22,09310 valid votes were received by ballot paper and through e-voting. In the two resolutions pertaining to Den Networks to borrow against hypothecation of its assets, 13,21,89,110 votes or 99.98 per cent valid votes were received in favour, with only 20,200 or 0.2 per cent of the votes against. 97.54 per cent (12,89,44,699 votes) voted in favour of a resolution for change in Den Networks Memorandum of Articles, with 2.46 per cent (3464611 votes) voting against this resolution.

     

    Over 95 per cent of the votes were in favour of the six resolutions proposed by Den Networks board pertaining to issuance of more than 1 per cent ESOPS to the employees of the multi system operator (MSO) and directors of associate and subsidiary companies through new shares as well as by procurement of shares from the secondary market.

     

     

     

    Refer to the attached notice filed by Den Networks on the bourses.

  • IMCL introduces prepaid payment options

    IMCL introduces prepaid payment options

    MUMBAI: It was in February 2014, when Tony D’silva took charge as the MD and group CEO of IMCL and laid the vision of adopting a prepaid model. And as the year comes to an end, the dream has been accomplished.

    The multi system operator (MSO) has brought in two important additions in its operations. One, it has introduced prepaid model for all its a-la-carte including Star channels and mini packs for consumers; and two, the MSO has introduced a prepaid system for last mile owners (LMOs) offering packages to their consumers.

     “The prepaid model is applicable for a-la-carte, Star channels and for the mini-packs. So if a consumer wants all the GECs plus sports or English entertainment channels, they can create a mini-pack and can pay for that through our website or by going to the cash counters. We have introduced all the payment modes that are available for recharge of DTH and telecom,” informs D’silva.

    The prepaid model for a-la-carte channels and mini packs was introduced after broadcaster Star India decided to enter into only Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) deals with MSOs.  

    This apart, a prepaid mode of payment for LMOs selling packages to their consumers has also been introduced from 1 December. “The reason behind this is that the same pack is priced differently in different parts of the city by the LMOs. In this case, we, as MSOs have no control over the pricing given by the LMO and so we decided that the LMO should pay for the packs they give to their consumers upfront to us,” he informs.

     “In case the LMO does not pay for the packs that they give to their consumers, we will either downgrade them or remove all pay channels from them,” adds D’silva.

    It can be noted that MSO Siti Cable too is looking at a similar prepaid model, wherein the LMOs would deposit an advance to the MSO to take signals and then collect the same from the consumer. The LMO according to the prepaid model will get the signals from the MSO till his credit balance remains.  The MSO is testing the viability of the model in Delhi first, and has decided to replicate it in other states, at a later stage.

    According to D’silva, prepaid model of payment is the only way by which the process of monetisation of packages can begin. Talking about the response, he says that of the 2.2 million IMCL subscribers, so far 100,000 subscribers have used the prepaid model. “This shows that the market wants a payment mode like this,” he adds.

    Also from the LMO point of view, as per D’silva, the collection is going good. “This is the only way that cable industry can move,” he opines.  

    So will the prepaid model help increase ARPUs? Says D’silva, “Everything is about packaging and bundling. Nobody watches more than 20 channels, so if I can give these 20 channels at a reasonable price and after that add extra channels of the choice of consumers; it wouldn’t pinch the consumer’s pocket.”

     

  • Hinduja Venture’s HITS project to rollout by April 2015

    Hinduja Venture’s HITS project to rollout by April 2015

    MUMBAI: Hinduja Ventures’ Headend in the Sky (HITS) project will soon see the light of day. While the platform will start the field testing in January-February 2015, the actual rollout will take place between March-May 2015.

    “We are working as per the plan and are on schedule,” informs IMCL MD and group CEO Tony D’silva to indiantelevision.com.

    The platform is in talks with several independent MSOs and LMOs.  “By the time we launch, we will have close to 8-10 million consumers being serviced through our HITS platform,” he says.

    In order to gauge the interest level of the operators in the HITS project, Hinduja conducted a major research in nine states including four states from the south, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, West Bengal and others. “The study was done by an outside agency and involved close to 1000 operators,” informs D’silva who is elated with the results.

    According to D’silva, the research shows that the operators are happy with the cash and carry model being offered by Hinduja’s HITS model. This apart, the study revealed that the operators are also excited about the customised packaging and bundling at a charge which is 50 per cent lower than what they would pay for this kind of setup.

    While the study also shows that the operators are excited about the launch, D’silva says that he doesn’t want to launch it in a hurry. “We want to test our services and make sure that the set top boxes (STBs) are of top quality. There have been a lot of issues with the boxes all across the country and so we want to subject the STBs to all kinds of heat, cold, dust etc test,” he adds.  

    The operators are also happy to do a small Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) for the boxes, probably at the cost of Rs 5 per subscriber per month, so that replacement of STBs becomes easier.

    As for the licence clearance from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, D’silva says that the process is moving smoothly. “We will get the final licence in hand only after we are ready for the rollout and pay Rs 40 crore as bank guarantee. Licence will not be an issue any more,” he says.

    D’silva claims that the platform has got the best products and four vendors have been roped in to provide the STBs.  “While no indigenous STB manufacturers are currently onboard, we are still looking at them. We want MPEG4 boxes at the same commercial terms as others. But, we haven’t got any positive feedback from them as yet,” informs D’silva.  

    As for the name of the platform, D’silva says that the research for the name is on. “I think, while brand name is good for us to build but at this point, HITS as a concept is more understood by the LMOs and so we do not want to confuse them at this stage,” he adds.  

    No agreements will be signed between the MSO or LMO and HITS, but a MoU could be signed before the HITS project is launched. “We cannot sign an agreement before the launch, since we will get the licence only after the rollout, but we may enter into MoUs.”

    The marketing campaign about the new launch will commence from middle or end of January. “We are providing a very competitive service to fight any competition, with value added services etc. We are also providing HD STBs to operators at the cost of SD boxes. We are entering the market looking at the future and not today,” signs off D’silva.

     

  • Hathway launches HD personal video recorder

    Hathway launches HD personal video recorder

    MUMBAI:   The cable and broadband service provider, Hathway, has launched a high definition personal video recorder. Hathway is the first national MSO to launch a HD PVR.

     

    The Hathway HD PVR has several features that will enhance the TV viewing experience of Hathway customers:

    •     Dedicated Search button on the remote to search content by keying in search words, like actors name, sporting events etc. A first in the country.

    •     Pause LIVE TV

    •     Rewind LIVE TV

    •     Planned Recording

    –    Schedule recording of your favourite programs

    –    Series recording possible

    –    Record upto two different programs while watching the third.

    •     1080i Resolution HD video out supported

    •     7.1 Dolby Digital Plus supported

    •     500 GB disk storage to record upto 625 hours of content

     

    The HD PVR is being launched at a special introductory price of Rs 7999 with one month complimentary viewing for all SD and HD package channels.  Options with six months and one year packages are also available at attractive prices.

     

    Hathway Cable & Datacom MD and CEO Jagdish Kumar said, “The launch of the HD PVR is yet another milestone for the cable industry. The TV viewing habits of customers are continuously evolving. Given the hectic lifestyle of consumers today our HD PVR gives them total control over their TV viewing experience through features like ‘Search’, ‘Pause and Rewind LIVE TV’ and ‘Record program or Series’. Hathway’s mission is to provide an incomparable world class TV viewing experience to every Indian customer.”

     

    Marketing and business development EVP Kunal Ramteke added, “With the advent of the holiday season the “Record” feature will ensure  customers don’t miss out on their favourite TV programs even when they are off on vacation. The Hathway HD PVR is the first in the country with the powerful Cisco Evo 12 EPG, not deployed by any MSO or DTH player and showcases our commitment to provide cutting edge global features for digital television in India.”

  • FCC: Dish Network resists Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger

    FCC: Dish Network resists Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger

    BENGALURU:  Citing irreparable harm to competition and consumers, and no discernible benefits, from the proposed union of the first and second largest cable companies in the nation, Dish Network Corp (Dish Network) filed its reply at the FCC to Comcast-Time Warner Cable’s (TWC) Opposition to the Petitions to Deny their proposed merger.

     

    “Everyone who likes to watch high-quality online video has particular reasons to worry about the proposed merger,” said Dish Network senior vice president and deputy general counsel Jeff Blum. “More than 54 per cent of the country’s high-speed broadband connections would be controlled by the combined company, and all online video distributors would be at the mercy of Comcast-TWC.”

     

    Some of the key points of Dish Network reply include:

     

    Comcast-TWC will be able to destroy OVDs with impunity. And destroy them it will: Dish’s experience based on the business case for Dish World and Dish’s soon-to-be-launched domestic OTT service demonstrates that an OTT could still turn a profit if it were to suffer foreclosure at the hands of a standalone Comcast, but not if the effects of the foreclosure spread across both of the Applicants’ systems. Based on his analysis of that business case, Dish’s expert economist Professor David Sappington concludes that, while foreclosure conduct on the part of Comcast today is probably survivable for an OVD such as Dish’s new OTT service, the same conduct would be lethal if undertaken by Comcast-TWC.

     

    As the petitions and comments demonstrate, high-speed cable broadband connections are the lifeblood of over-the-top (“OTT”) video services that typically target national audiences. For that reason, among others, the relevant geographic market for this transaction is national. Furthermore, the relevant product market should include only those services capable of supporting the robust online video services that consumers demand, which requires a household to have actual and consistent download speeds of at least 25 Megabits per second (“Mbps”). If approved, the combined Comcast-TWC would control more than 54 per cent of the broadband pipes in the United States that have speeds of at least 25 Mbps, and will be on a path to virtual dominance of the high-speed broadband market given that the combined company will pass nearly 70 per cent of pay-TV households in the US.

     

    Use of the Commission’s own method for estimating actual departures of a rival’s subscribers due to temporary foreclosure with a time horizon of six months leads to the conclusion that Comcast-TWC can reap eye-popping gains from denying its competitors NBCU programming. This will affect competition in a number of ways. It will cause subscribers to leave the competing distributor in favour of Comcast-TWC; it will cause dissatisfied Comcast-TWC subscribers to stay put instead of losing their access to NBCU; and it will let NBCU extract higher prices for its own programming by leveraging the fear of foreclosure.

     

    The merger’s claimed benefits, if any, cannot outweigh the merger’s harms. In the Opposition, the Applicants devote hundreds of pages to extolling the purported benefits of the merger. Many of these benefits are illusory or speculative—characteristically, the Applicants offer no more precise quantification than “hundreds of millions of dollars.” Many of the benefits are also not merger-specific. The upgrade of TWC systems, supposedly made possible thanks to the merger, is a prime example. Public documents show that TWC had planned to complete this transition itself as a standalone company. This means that large portions of the claimed benefits attributed to TWC upgrades (again left unquantified) should be disallowed in their entirety.

     

    Conduct conditions would fail to address the merger’s many harms. Conduct conditions did not work for Comcast-NBCU, and they would not work for this transaction, which poses substantially greater risks of harm. There is little reason to believe that Comcast will alter its pattern of repeatedly breaking promises. Moreover, the complexity of the gatekeeping function over the Internet choke points alone promises a myriad of technicalities that would likely allow circumvention of, and/or interpretive debate over, any conditions. Ultimately, if the Commission approves the merger believing that conditions are sufficient to address all the harms, there is no going back. The consequences of getting it wrong are too great, the risks too high. The public deserves better.

  • Hathway receives shareholders nod for equity share split

    Hathway receives shareholders nod for equity share split

    BENGALURU:  Shareholders of Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited (Hathway) have voted in favour of a share split of the company’s equity shares of face value (FV) of Rs 10 each. The company had proposed splitting each equity share of FV of Rs 10 to 5 equity shares of face value of Rs 2 each. The board of directors of the company had passed the resolution at its meeting held on 13 November 2014.

     

    Rathi and Associates, the scrutinizer of the ballot, in its report said that 101 postal ballot forms representing 1,103,011 equity shares and 69 e-voting confirmations representing 99,908,194 equity shares were received. Of these, 11 postal ballot/e-voting confirmations representing 2474 equity shares were invalid. Of the 159 net valid postal ballot forms/e-voting confirmations representing 101,008681 equity shares, 157 postal ballots/e-voting confirmations assented to the split, with 2 representing 50 shares dissenting.

     

    Hathway has an authorised equity share capital of Rs 199.80 crore. The existing issued, subscribed, paid up share capital of the company is Rs 166,09,89,000 shares divided into 16,60,98,900 equity shares of FV of Rs 10 each.

     

    The stock closed at Rs 333.35 per equity share of FV of Rs 10 at close of trading today (22 December 2014) in the BSE, up 3 per cent (Rs 9.70) from the previous close of Rs 323.65. The stock’s 52 week high was Rs 385.60 and 52 week low was Rs 221 on the BSE.

     

    On the NSE, the stock closed at Rs 333.25, up 2.37 per cent as compared to the previous close of Rs 325.55 on 19 December. Its 52 week on the NSE was Rs 382 on 4 December 2014 and the 52 week low was Rs 220 on 14 April 2014.

  • “We are looking at funding options and are actively engaged with investors”: JK Jain

    “We are looking at funding options and are actively engaged with investors”: JK Jain

    Cable TV industry in the country has been the hub of the action for the past one year, especially with the government pushing through digitisation of cable TV homes. An important player in the industry is the headend in the sky (HITS) player JAINHITS, which did face some initial hiccups in being accepted by the broadcasters and local cable operators (LCOs), but has now finally made in-roads in several homes pan-India.

     

    And leading the HITS platform from the front is Dr. Jinendra Kumar Jain, who is not only a surgeon, a former member of parliament, but also the founder chairman of Jain TV Group.  

     

    He pioneered the satellite TV era in India by launching the country’s first round-the-clock satellite television service in Indian languages. JAINHITS is his latest initiative to serve the national goal of digitisation. 

     

    The HITS platform proposes to distribute 200 to 500 digital channels via satellite to the existing ground networks of cable operators. It is designed to integrate broadcasting and broadband services and thus, help bridging the digital divide in one go all over the country.

     

    Jain’s leadership, innovative ideas in the ICT sector and entrepreneurial initiatives have led to establishment of several successful businesses, including: Video on Wheels (Vow), a countrywide network of mobile video and health service vans, Noida Software Technology Park Limited (NSTPL), India’s first private teleport that provides both fixed (FSS) as well as mobile (MSS) satellite services, Medical Communication Network (MCN) whose publications include the Indian edition of FIGO Journal, IJGO (International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics) and the Population Reports for John Hopkins University, National Broadcasting Academy (NBA), a graduate and post graduate educational programme providing degrees in Management and Communication fields.  

     

    While the eyes are fixed on the soon-to-be launched HITS platform from Hinduja, Indiantelevision.com’s Seema Singh spoke to Jain on the platform’s performance, the struggle in getting accepting, his future plans and much more….

     

    Excerpts…

     

    How did you think of launching a HITS platform in a market which was dominated by multi system operators (MSOs)? How long did it take from planning to finally launching the service?

     

    We were the very first company that explained the headend in the sky (HITS) strategy to deliver digital signals to the cable operators. It was somewhere in the year 2003 that the then Minister Sushma Swaraj declared the decision of digitisation. They had obviously not done any homework and officials in her Ministry were willing to learn the technological aspects of the task. I had an opportunity to explain Anil Baijal, the then additional secretary in the Ministry about HITS. He liked the idea and I agreed to submit a detailed project report with all the relevant information.  The Government issued us the permission letter to deliver HITS services from our Teleport which had already been set up. In the beginning, there was no market and therefore we did not show any hurry. In fact, Citi Networks also got the similar permission and even started HITS based services without waiting for finalisation of rules and regulations. They arrived in the market before time but we waited for the right time and that is how they closed their shop without waiting for the market conditions to ripe and our timely decision is now giving us full benefits. Today we are the market leader in this sector. 

     

    Was it a task to get the broadcasters onboard? How did they initially react to the HITS model?

     

    Yes it was quite a task to get the broadcasters onboard. This became possible only with the help of judicial intervention. The big monopoly houses of the Indian cable industry have been offering resistance at every step of our journey. Nobody doubts the fact that cable digitisation will be a game changer in India. The cable distribution market is flourishing and millions of people in India watch TV via cable. Digitisation is certainly good news for broadcasters and tax authorities because subscriber numbers will be reported accurately and transparently.  Even the subscriber shall benefit from itemised billing detail so that they will be charged only for the channels that they wish to subscribe.

     

    It is true that the vertical chain of the industry stands divided between big and small players.  But, the game is turning in favour of small cable operators and their victory would mean the success of HITS platform.

     

     

    While a lot of the issues have been resolved with the court ruling in your favour, how have you dealt with the issues the broadcasters were raising, that of piracy?

     

    We have deployed best technology solutions to prevent piracy related issues.  As a company we take ‘Piracy’ very seriously. We have our own anti-piracy teams who look into such piracy issues.

     

    We also work in tandem with our business partners- broadcasters, LCOs, and distributors and take inputs from them to fight back the malice of Piracy. At present, during the audits conducted by the broadcasters they have found our systems working efficiently and exceeding industry standards. 

     

    How big is the company today, in terms of number of offices, employees, ground stations, revenue?

     

    NSTPL is a Public Ltd. profit making company. The business of the company is divided across three verticals:

     

    NSTPL Infra

    NSTPL Broadband

    JAINHITS

     

    The company has presence across the country with its own offices as well as distribution partners spread across India. NSTPL that operates India’s only National Cable and Broadband Platform called JAINHITS, operates teleports in Greater Noida and Hyderabad, serving 70 broadcasters. The Teleport is duly authorised & licensed by various regulatory bodies such as Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and Ministry of Communications, Government of India.

     

    When you started, what was the initial investment that was made into the company? Who were the partners? How have you grown the company over the years?

     

    NSTPL is a closely held Limited Company with fully paid up share capital of Rs 30 crore. 86.66 per cent of its shares are held by  Ankur Services Growth Fund, 13.33 per cent is held by Jain Studio and 0.002 per cent is held by individuals. We have invested approximately Rs 150 crore in JAINHITS since the concept initiation i.e. from April 2012.

     

    The response to JAINHITS has been extremely encouraging and thus, in a short span of one year we have signed up with over 300 cable operator partners across India.

     

    How many TV channels does the platform have currently? How many homes do you reach to and in which regions?

     

    We have around 254 channels today. Out of which 7 channels, namely, Disney, Cartoon Network, Pogo, Discovery, History, TV18, Animal Planet and Nickelodeon have dual audio feeds. Our services are available pan-India.

     

    How will digitisation benefit JAINHITS? What are the steps that are being taken to reap the maximum benefits of digitisation?

     

    Owing to pressure from DTH and on account of the digitisation law, all cable operators have to go digital. JAINHITS provides most cost-effective digitisation solution for such cable operators across India. Any cable operator across India can go completely digital and be fully DAS compliant with mere investment as low as Rs 5-10 lakh, while retaining full control of their business. They also have a chance to enhance their monthly Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) by offering additional value added services like Triple Play Services throughout India – Video, Data & Voice, Broadband Services.

     

    We keep announcing consumer friendly schemes so that our business partners i.e. the cable operator community have the best to offer to its customers. We conduct LCO meets in every state almost once a quarter. This is a platform where partner LCOs along with potential prospective cable operators come face to face and get their concerns addressed. We participate in industry events and expos to reach more and more cable operators.

     

    What are the services that the platform provides to its consumers?

     

    JAINHITS provides a platform of 254 SD channels at present. Very soon we will introduce HD platform and additional value added services like Triple Play Services– Video, Data & Voice, Broadband Services throughout India.

     

    How do you think HITS platform will play a major role in phase III and IV of digitisation? Will you be competing with DTH and MSOs? What’s the strategy?

     

    Phase III & IV of digitisation covers over 1350 Municipal Corporation and 597,464 Villages (as per Census 2011) spread in the far flung areas across India. These are the areas where the reach of cable TV is at its lowest level on account of non-availability of adequate infrastructure. For the land based networks and MSOs, this vast area in phase III & IV is the most difficult to reach.

     

    Only and most effective method of reaching this area is through HITS platform. JAINHITS allows all cable operators in these phase III & IV markets to go digital at a miniscule cost of Rs 5 lakh. The platform also provides these cable networks to offer broadband services to their consumers in these far flung areas. Above all, it is the only platform in the country, offering complete empowerment and ownership to even the smallest LCO by making him a leader & cable owner and an ISO (Independent Service Operator). It provides a simple “Plug & Play cost effective digitisation solution” to cable operators.

     

    Recently, MSOs have been facing issues with a few broadcasters like Star and Zee. Also with TDSAT ruling that Star channels will be available on RIO, does that impact JAINHITS in any way? What’s your take on the judgment?

     

    We have most of our content available on RIO basis and accordingly we offer our viewers a choice wherein they can opt for A-la-Carte choice of content to meet their individual needs.

     

    Per say this Judgment, really doesn’t affect our business models.

     

    While the cable TV industry in phase I and II are still struggling with packaging and billing, what’s the scenario with the HITS platform?

     

    HITS services were envisaged with an inbuilt SMS & CAS system. Accordingly, we at JAINHITS have also sensitized our partners- ‘the need’ of different types of packaging that may be required based on the area they will service. Accordingly, we have created different types of packs that serve the needs of large cross-section of people in India. Billing is automated and done through SMS platform.

     

    Are you looking for funding to go ahead with your plans? Any plans for IPO?

    We are indeed looking at funding options and are actively engaged with investors interested in the Indian cable & broadband market.

  • Axom Communications signs bandwidth agreement with Airtel

    Axom Communications signs bandwidth agreement with Airtel

    KOLKATA: Assam-based multi-system operator (MSO), Axom Communications and Cable, has signed an agreement with telecom major Airtel for one year. The main objective of this is to have better bandwidth and reach in all the seven north eastern states, where the company operates.

    Currently, the MSO boasts of around six lakh cable TV connections in Assam including the lower and central parts of the state. It had installed a digital headend in 2009 and had laid down the fiber connecting around 250 kms from three sides of Guwahati, the commercial hub of Assam.

    Axom Communications and Cable director Sanjive Narain said that this bandwidth would easily help in connecting all the seven north eastern states. “Before the cable TV digitisation starts in full swing in phase III and IV, we have already finished 60-70 per cent of the work in Guwahati,” he added.

    “Out of the six lakh connections, more than 70,000 cable homes have been converted into digital signal even before the digitisation process has started in the state,” he explained talking about Guwahati.
    “Fiber network connectivity work is on in other states like Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya to name a few,” he further added.

    The company has around 10 analogue headends and one digital headend in total, informed Narain.

    It should be noted that Assam and other north eastern states are likely to digitise their cable TV homes in the phase III and IV of digitisation. “Right now the process has not started in the true sense, but the industry is getting ready,” he said.

    With a terrain where cable cannot reach easily, there is a sizeable penetration of DTH in this market. “We will convert a DTH home into cable TV home by giving a lucrative option to consumers,” he concluded.

     

  • CVNO model to spread wings in north India by Feb 2015

    CVNO model to spread wings in north India by Feb 2015

    MUMBAI: It was an initiative of Maharashtra Cable Operators Federation (MCOF), thoroughly supported by multi system operator (MSO) BR Cable Network, which helped a new model to make in-roads into the cable TV industry in Mumbai.   

    It was in May 2014 that the first Cable Virtual Network Operator (CVNO) was launched in the city. It was modeled in a way that the last mile owners (LMOs) could borrow the infrastructure from the MSO, seed set top boxes (STBs) and manage their own subscribers. The CVNO model came up as a response from the LMOs to the MSOs, who were feeling disempowered post digitisation.

    While the LMOs across the nation took time to understand the model, seems like CVNO is finally gaining momentum. What started with Mumbai, has already spread its wings in Kolkata, where the LMOs have come together and have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with multi system operator (MSO) Meghbela Cable in order take its infrastructure.

    Now, if sources from the cable TV industry are to be believed, the model could be launched in a couple of more states. “And this will be as early as January-February 2015,” the source says. He further adds that states like Bengaluru, Gujarat, Delhi and even Punjab could follow in the steps of LMOs in Mumbai and Kolkata.

    “Delhi could lead the way in northern India for the CVNO model, and if things work out as planned, Fastway Network too could face some challenges from the new model,” concludes the industry source.