India's new Information and Broadcasting Minister, Arun Jaitley has emphasised the importance of digitisation of the cable TV sector to ensure better service, wider choice of content and transparency within the subscriber base. The I&B Ministry has been working to usher in complete digitisation in the cable TV sector across the country by December 31, 2016.
The minister chaired the first meeting of the Consultative Committee of I&B Ministry to discuss the issue related to implementation of Phase III and Phase IV of the digitization of cable TV sector during which he expressed his views in New Delhi. He said that as a process, digitisation had also brought about a change in the broadcasting landscape as well as enabled broadband penetration within the country.
At the meeting which was also attended by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, MoS for I&B, ministry officials made a presentation giving an overview of the digitisation process. The presentation highlighted the steps taken during Phase I and II and the proposed road map for Phase III and IV. Officials made specific reference to the initiatives undertaken by the ministry, including the discussions with stakeholders and the campaign to sensitise masses, according to a statement. Members of the Committee gave suggestions to ensure that the concerns of all stakeholders were addressed. It was emphasised that Multi-System Operators (MSOs) should operationalise grievance redressal mechanisms to address the concerns of cable subscribers.
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It was also emphasised that the quality of domestically manufactured Set Top Boxes (STBs) must be ensured. The issue of digitisation plan of Doordarshan terrestrial network and the steps being taken to implement the process was also deliberated upon.
