ITV

Tag: GTPL KCBPL

  • GTPL KCBPL partner with UKIO, spread smiles

    GTPL KCBPL partner with UKIO, spread smiles

    KOLKATA: GTPL KCBPL has partnered with UKIO to spread smiles during these difficult times and expand their product offering. UKIO is a personalised messaging platform that allows users to share video call messages with their loved ones via their favourite celebrity icons. Customers can get customised video messages made from their favourite Tollywood celebrities for as low as Rs 299. 

    Bleak times call for more emotional support and a feeling of being cared for and celebrated by our loved ones no matter what. As people across the country are forced to adhere to contact-less mannerisms, here’s a way out to still reach out to the closest people in our lives and make them feel special. This can only be made possible with the mindful use of technology at our disposal.

    “This initiative is very important and close to the hearts of GTPL KCBPL’s family as it will cheer people up and make them forget their woes. These videos are ideal gifts to loved ones in these tough times. They have already seen a great demand for Eid wishes and Covid related courtesy messages”, GTPL KCBPL transformation manager Ankit Agarwal said.

    “This platform also allows users to get on a video call with their favourite megastars which can easily be turned into a special greeting and a memory locked in for years to come. These services will be available through our 8000 plus cable operators across the states of West Bengal and Odisha and people can create a video message to send congratulatory or occasional greetings to their friends and family. They can reach out to their local cable operator to get one of these videos. 

    Users can choose between celebrities across categories like sports, cinema, models, actors, comedy, health and fitness, TV actors, and so on. They have endless options to choose from Tollywood as well as Bollywood. Some of the biggest names in the business who have already created memorable moments include popular stars Rachna Banerjee, Ena Saha, sports megastar and Badminton Player Saina Nehwal, TV Actor, Host, and Bollywood actor Siddharth Banerjee, and Bollywood Actor and Music Composer Salim Merchant to name a few of the galaxy of stars on UKIO’s platform.

  • Kolkata MSO GTPL-KCBPL applies for broadband license

    Kolkata MSO GTPL-KCBPL applies for broadband license

    KOLKATA: Kolkata-based multi-system operator (MSO) GTPL-KCBPL, which boasts of having more than five lakh set top boxes (STBs) in West Bengal, has applied for a broadband license to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB).

    Since the company is looking to launch broadband services in a big way, once the permission is granted, GTPL-KCBPL is also likely to create awareness through a multi-media campaign. “We shall inform prospective customers through various activities. We will also organize BTL activities and let people know through our distribution network,” said GTPL- KCBPL managing director Bijoy Kumar Agarwal.

    “We are shortly going to roll out the broadband service in Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA) to begin with, which will create more opportunities for our business partners and at the same time with state-of-the-art technologies, we will be bringing the best of services. In a digital addressable era, broadband and VAS (value added services) will become important differentiated offerings. We are upbeat about our penetration and growth in eastern region as our pack will be a value addition for the customers,” he said.

    Agarwal also hinted that broadband will be another major revenue source as it has direct control over the customers.

    An Ethernet cable carries the broadband signals between modem, router, computer, and other wired Internet-capable devices.

    Cable analyst Namit Dave said that broadband and VAS, which suppressed revenue streams so far, will get a major boost as the country advances towards the complete era of digitisation of cable TV. MSOs are also rolling out packages in vast scale.

    Another analyst added that broadband is a lucrative business now with less investment, which in turn promises higher revenue.

    In 2005, a group of 160 cable operators in a unique manner turned themselves into shareholders and made KCBPL a successful MSO in KMA. While in 2010, KCBPL entered into a joint venture with GTPL, which has enabled this new entity to gain strong foothold in the state of West Bengal.

    When asked about the company’s technology partners, Agarwal said that Cisco, Skyworth, Nagravision, Newland and Magnaquest among others are in touch with the company on a regular basis so that it can update and offer latent technology to its customers.

    It may be recalled that Indiantelevision.com recently reported that GTPL-KCBPL, which was offering around 22 High Definition (HD) channels until, has now increased the offering to 32 channels.

    “After the rollout of digitization in KMA in the first and second phase of the digitization drive, we believe that our partners and viewers stand to benefit from more opportunities, products and value with digitization,” Agarwal concluded.

  • GTPL-KCBPL increases HD channels to 32; to go off free model

    GTPL-KCBPL increases HD channels to 32; to go off free model

    KOLKATA: Kolkata-based multi-system operator (MSO) GTPL-KCBPL, which was offering around 22 High Definition (HD) channels, has increased the offering to 32 channels now. The company, which is airing these HD channels for free now, is looking at charging its 15,000 customers either towards the end of March or in the beginning of the next fiscal (2015-16).

     

    GTPL- KCBPL managing director Bijoy Kumar Agarwal told Indiantelevision.com that the channels launched by the MSO are Star Sports 3HD, Star Ports 4HD, Animal Planet HD, Sony HD, Sony Six HD, Sony Pix HD, &Pictures HD and TLC World HD.

     

    High definition is a different standard of digital television broadcasting, which offers sharper, more detailed pictures and surround sound. Only viewers with an “HD Ready” television set, a special HD set top box receiver and reception of a high definition service will experience true HD programming. High definition programmes are also specially shot.

     

    In 2005, a group of 160 cable operators in a unique manner turned themselves into shareholders and made KCBPL a successful MSO in Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA). While in the year 2010, KCBPL entered into a joint venture with GTPL, which has enabled this new entity to gain strong foothold in the state of West Bengal.

     

    At present the company has more than five lakh set top boxes (STBs) seeded in West Bengal. “We are also betting on increasing the HD boxes from 15,000 currently installed by us,” Agarwal said.

     

    According to Agarwal, there is a lot of scope of increasing HD boxes in certain pockets of the city. “Digitisation of television industry has always been at the centre of our strategies,” he added.

     

    The company’s technology partners include Cisco, Skyworth, Nagravision, Newland and Magnaquest amongst others. “We are in touch with our partners on a regular basis so we can always update and offer latest technology to our customers,” he said.

     

    “After the rollout of digitisation in KMA, which is in first and second phase of digitisation drive, we believe, our partners and viewers stand to benefit from more opportunities, products and value. We are soon going to roll out broadband services in KMA to begin with, which will create more opportunities for our business partners and at the same time with state of the art technologies we will be bringing the best of the services,” he concluded.

  • A bumpy ride for gross billing in Kolkata

    A bumpy ride for gross billing in Kolkata

    KOLKATA: It’s been five months, since multi system operators (MSOs) started gross (consumer) billing. However, according to cable industry sources, consumers in certain pockets of the Kolkata Municipal Area (KMA) are unwilling to accept bills or pay the billed amounts.

     

    On the other hand, there are three to four MSOs that have not yet handed over bills to the local cable operators (LCOs), and are instead uploading them to their servers and asking LCOs to take print outs thereof and give it to customers, sources inform.

     

    MSOs are meeting regularly to discuss smooth rollout of gross billing in KMA, given that both West Bengal and central government authorities have asked them to expedite the billing process. “Since the billing process hasn’t kicked off in the way it should have, we are meeting on a regular basis to discuss issues like billing, collection and disputes among operators among others,” said a MSO on condition of anonymity.

     

    Another source argued that MSOs that have not yet started the package could not have started the billing process either, so how can their gross billing be acceptable?

     

    A GTPL-KCBPL official said that the company was facing collection issues in localities such as Sobha Bazaar among others in the KMA. “The problems include billing, area disputes etc,” informed another MSO.

     

    “MSOs are billing the full amount of the package but actually, they are getting a much lesser amount in hand. This problem needs to be solved first,” said yet another MSO on condition of anonymity.

     

    A city-based cable analyst meanwhile said, “Billing is a mess as LCOs are not willing to collect the billed amount and consumers are not willing to pay.”

     

    Kolkata has nearly 30 lakh cable homes where till mid-January, MSOs were issuing ad hoc bills.

  • Kolkata LCOs want to raise bills, pay tax themselves

    Kolkata LCOs want to raise bills, pay tax themselves

    KOLKATA:  It is their fight for staying relevant and thwart looming extinction due to digitisation. More than 2,000 local cable operators (LCOs) from Kolkata have joined forces to keep the last mile in their control.

     

    The LCOs, under the banner of Joint Forum of Cable Operators’ Association (JFCOA), have decided to mobilise support and start billing their customers themselves, instead of their multi-system operators (MSOs) doing it.

     

    The LCOs also want to start paying service tax themselves to the government authorities.

     

    “We will conduct several meetings among operators across the city to mobilise support ,” said JFCOA convener Swapan Chowdhury.

     

    JFCOA has decided to put pressure on MSOs to make the necessary provisions in their systems to enable billing from the cable operators’ end.

     

    “(This has been decided) in order to restrain MSOs’ ill intention to eradicate LCOs from the business,” said Chowdhury, after a conference which also attended by representatives of MSOs Meghbela Broadband Services and GTPL-KCBPL.

     

    With the implementation of digitisation of cable TV services in Phase I and Phase II, the MSOs have been made responsible for sending of bills to cable TV consumers.

     

    Indiantelevision.com had last month reported that Kolkata’s LCOs have come together to form the JFCOA in a bid to articulate their problems to MSOs and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

     
    The conference today discussed issues the LCOs have about billing, interconnect agreement, and the ratio of revenue sharing between LCOs and MSOs with the implementation of digitised delivery of television channels to television households.

      
    A member of the Cable Operators’ Sangram Committee said the LCOs have requested MSOs not to interrupt cable operators’ services till the various issues raised by them are resolved.

     

    The LCO suggested that there should be an interconnection agreement between the MSO and the LCOs to conduct business in the DAS regime. “In spite of a business relationship and business transactions between the two of them, no interconnect agreement has been followed till now, which is a violation of the law,” he said.

     
    Another LCO pointed out that MSOs were not executing the agreement with LCOs even though DAS had been implemented since February last year. “DAS agreement with cable operators should be completed by MSOs with immediate effect…” he demanded.

     

    Sujit Das, MD of AMBC, an MSO, said his company could not participate in the conference, but would still talk to affiliated LCOs and discuss issues raised via the forum.

  • MSOs ask LCOs to collect CAFs from remaining cable homes in Kolkata

    MSOs ask LCOs to collect CAFs from remaining cable homes in Kolkata

    KOLKATA: That the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has asked MSOs in Kolkata to start gross (consumer) billing from 15 December, 2013, indiantelevision.com had already reported. Word just in is that MSOs in the Kolkata Municipal Area (KMA) have requested local cable operators (LCOs) to expedite the process of collecting Consumer Application Forms (CAF) and channel package details from the remaining five per cent of nearly 30 lakh cable TV homes in the city.

     

    “We are asking the LCOs to cooperate and collect the remaining five per cent CAF so that we can start generating accurate bills against their names,” said SitiCable Network director Suresh Sethia, adding that the region had already collected 95-97 per cent CAF. 

     

    Manthan Broadband Services director Sudip Ghosh informed that apart from taking details from consumers in the prescribed handwritten format, “MSOs have also created a system in their servers, where LCOs could send CAF details to further advance the process of DAS.”

     

    Meanwhile, an official from GTPL-KCBPL said the company had got CAF and SAF details of only over five lakh customers out of the seven lakh active set top boxes (STBs). “Unless we get the CAF and SAF details, we cannot generate bills in the names of the customers,” he remarked. “But we will try to complete the process for the remaining 2 lakh customers and give bills to them in the next one or two months,” he added after a pause.

     

    According to few industry sources, while players like SitiCable and Manthan have said they have achieved 100 per cent CAF rate, it is possible they haven’t accounted for situations where certain households have two set top boxes and the consumers haven’t gone through the CAF process or homes that have been closed after the residents left the city and so on. Still, other sources questioned how MSOs can start the billing process when they haven’t yet started the package.