I&B Ministry extends date for Cable TV Digitisation

Excelsior Correspondent

New Delhi, Dec 28: The Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry has extended the cut-off date for the third and fourth phase of the Cable TV Digitisation.
According to a statement issued by the I&B Ministry, the cut-off date for Phase-III digitisation is extended to January 31, 2017 and for the Phase-IV to March 31, 2017.
“In view of uncertainty in the market due to pending court cases and unsatisfactory progress of installation of Set Top Boxes (STBs) in Phase IV areas, the deadlines have been extended,” the Ministry statement said.
The digitisation of cable networks in rural areas was targeted to be achieved by December 2016 under Phase IV and in the urban areas by December 31 last year.
The ministry said it is also providing additional time for the remaining subscribers in Phase III areas to switch over to digital mode of transmission by January 31, 2017, on account of ongoing court proceedings.
The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Act, 2011, has made it mandatory to switch over the existing analogue cable TV networks to Digital Addressable System (DAS) in four phases.
The ministry will be issuing instructions to all the broadcasters, multi-system operators, local cable operators and the authorized officers to ensure that no analog signals would be transmitted over the cable networks in Phase III areas after January 31, 2017. It is also made clear that further extension of the deadline would not be allowed. A notification in this regard will be issued shortly.

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