MUMBAI: IndusInd Media & Communications Ltd (IMCL), has announced the soft launch of its Digital TV Services, using the set-top-box in Mumbai city. Sources reveal that several senior INCableNet executives participated in the direct marketing and retailing (of set top boxes) exercise conducted on Sunday, 31 August 2003, in south Mumbai.

A press release says that in a symbolic gesture on the auspicious day of Ganesh Chaturti on 31 August, the INDigital set top box (STB) was released and inaugurated at the feet of Lord Ganesha at the Siddhi Vinayak temple at Mumbai. Incidentally, the cable trade in Mumbai has obtained a 10-day grace period due to Ganesh Chaturti and the rollout of CAS will happen only from 10 September after the Ganapati Visarjan.

Through the release, INDigital has also announced purchase and rental schemes for its high-tech digital STBs. This, says the release, will bring Digital Pay TV services within the reach of all who wish to watch pay channels.

As a special festive offer, the release adds that the outright purchase of its STBs at a special price of Rs 3,500 against the MRP of Rs 4,999. In addition to the over Rs 1,000 discount it, says the release, is also offering a booklet of special discount coupons valued over Rs 7,000.

The company has tied up with world-renowned vendors such as Nagravision (Switzerland) - a world-leader in Digital CAS Solutions for the deployment of the leading secure CAS System and integrating the CAS project; Tandberg (Norway) for the hi-tech Digital Headend; MagnaQuest (Hyderabad) for the SMS system; TechnoTrend (Germany) and Wistron (Taiwan) to provide STB's of state-of-the-art design.

The company has also has an operational 24 hour call centre to provide customer support all through the year. The release claims that customers can reach out to a cable operator with all their queries, be it technical, operational or usage problems.

The release also adds that the STB, driven by a digital headend, provides crystal-clear reception of over 500 digital channels. The box allows the user to set a parental lock on channels that they do not wish their children to watch, create lists of their favourite channels and many new features.

INCableNet is also planning to introduce Pay Per View (PPV) of special and unique content such as prime movies, sport events etc. IMCL is soon to come out with unique digital content that non-STB owners cannot see.

The release says that the boxes are being initially deployed in South Mumbai, after extensive trials, and can be purchased by any customer in any part of Mumbai. Subscribers purchasing the STBs can avail of attractive schemes like gifts and prizes, and also low introductory prices for a short period - adds the release.

The scheme is now being extended to Delhi also, with the USP of the benefits of Digital Television.

INCableNet claims to be India's largest independent broadband MSO. It claims that it is ranked among the 10 largest cable TV providers in the world.