Independent TV has announced that it will not be resuming services as ITV 2.0 this week, citing heavy rains in Mumbai as the reason. Independent TV states that the company's head-end at Mumbai and the satellite up-link facility in Bengaluru are inoperative currently. For the unaware, Independent TV was said to resume services as ITV 2.0 on August 15, but that didn't happen due to the reason mentioned above. The DTH operator now says the company's technical team is expected to resolve the issue next week, once things settle down a bit in Mumbai. If heavy rains continue in Mumbai, we might see the service resumption getting delayed even more. Several Independent TV customers tweeted to the company on August 15 regarding the recovery of services, and in return, the company has announced the delay.
Independent TV Customers Still in Jeopardy Due to Lack of Services
Independent TV has more than 80,000 subscribers on board and it's one of the popular DTH operators in the Northern India regions. However, since mid-June, the company was facing issues with its satellite signal provider Antrix Corporation over non-payment of dues. To recall, Independent TV disconnected services to consumers in the second week of June, stating that it might resume TV channels in a week. Nevertheless, we're now past mid-August and the company is yet to resume the services to the consumers, which is irking them right now.
"Dear Customers, Team Independent TV is ready to relaunch its operations from today. Because of heavy rains in Mumbai, the link between our head-end at Mumbai and our satellite uplink facility at Bengaluru is inoperative currently. Our technical teams expect to resolve this in the next week. We regret the inconvenience being caused to each of you and are grateful for your patience and understanding," said Independent TV on Twitter yesterday.
There are several Independent TV customers who paid for long-term channel packs and they're suffering right now. Monthly channel pack users may have shifted to another DTH operator by now, but that won't be the case with long-term channel packs as they'll stick with Independent TV at least for refund.
Independent TV Assures Refund to the Users for Disconnection Period
Independent TV also confirmed that it would provide a full refund to the customers over the entire disconnection period. While this news comes as a slight relief, Independent TV customers are more worried about the company's future and resumption of services. Independent TV said that it would relaunch services as ITV 2.0 to gain customers trust back with a brand new name. It will be interesting to see when the company resumes its services.
What is the Actual Issue With Independent TV?
Independent TV did not clear its due to satellite service provider Antrix Corporation, which made the latter to disconnect the services entirely. Post the disconnection, the matter was taken to Trai, TDSAT and even for a court hearing. The TDSAT ordered Independent TV to clear dues worth Rs 12 crore to Antrix Corporation. Right now, there's no update on whether the company has cleared the dues or not, but Antrix Corporation seems to have started providing satellite signals to Independent TV.
