Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar announced on Wednesday that the TV digitisation programme involving 14 crore TV sets, “the largest digitisation in the world”, would be completed by 2016. This would benefit the consumers who would have access to better TV quality and more viewing options at lesser cost.
He was addressing the first meeting of a task force constituted by his Ministry for Phase III and Phase IV of the Digitisation drive. The task force would ensure implementation of timelines of the Phase III and Phase IV digitisation of cable TV. He said the third phase of digitalisation would complete by 2015 and fourth by 2016.
The Task Force would also provide an important platform to debate and overview issues related to the digitisation implementation besides understanding the concern of stakeholders.
He stressed the need for having inter-operability of Set Top Boxes (STBs).Referring to the telecom sector, Javadekar said that a consumer can choose a handset of any make and also at the same time any service provider of his choice.
“But the consumer is not being given this freedom with regard to STBs. Why does he have to buy the STB that the Multi System Operator asks him toIJ If there is interoperability of STBs, it will be such a good thing,” he said.
The minister said that more technological possibilities should be explored and suggested that if there can be a ‘two-way’ communication through cable even TRPs could be measured.
Regarding the indigenisation of the Set Top Boxes the Minister said, that the concerns of the industry had been taken up with the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Communications & IT and accordingly Set Top Boxes were declared as part of “telecommunication network.”