Direct-to-home (DTH) service provider Tata Sky has asserted that it is fully geared to face the challenges arising out of the June deadline set for the first phase of nation-wide digitisation programme for cable television.
In the first-phase, cable television in four metros — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata — is set to go digital. In the second phase, around 30 cities (with a population of 10 lakh and above) will go digital by 2013. The idea is to ensure that by 2014, cable television across the country moved over to the digital format.
Vikram Mehra, Chief Marketing Officer of Tata Sky, said availability of set-top boxes would not be an issue.
However, creating awareness among end-users, building efficient billing system and beefing up customer relationship system for services could prove a tough assignment. Mr. Mehra said the digitisation programme in these four metros offered Tata Sky “a 10 million customer opportunity”. He said that Tata Sky “has been gearing up well on all these counts” by ensuring adequate flow of set-top boxes of assorted kinds, increasing workforce and training them for installation of set-top boxes, and strengthening the back-end. He said Tata Sky could go in for a call centre in every region to respond to customer queries in their language.