NEW DELHI: Getting first off the blocks, Siticable Network Limited, the cable subsidiary of the Subhash Chandra-promoted Zee Telefilms, has begun seeding set-top boxes in the South Delhi area, which will be the first zone where conditional access system (CAS) would be rolled out from 1 September.
Similar initiatives have been started in Kolkata where, at present, consumers are being given demonstrations of the digital boxes that would be needed to access pay channels in a post CAS regime.
While ASC Enterprises, another Chandra company, is the licence holder for uplinking, Siticable Network is implementing CAS via its headend in the sky (HITS) model and marketing it under brand name Galaxzee.
Pointing out that the service is now operational with HITS getting the formal nod from the information and broadcasting ministry, an official statement from Siticable Network said, "It's a clear indication of the company's commitment to meet the 1 September deadline set by the government for phased implementation of CAS in the metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai."
The statement added that Siticable has initiated various consumer education programmes, including benefits of the boxes, their properties, pricing and availability, etc. The company is claiming that it would offer a new, digital entertainment experience that would be "far superior to what the Indian audience have witnessed so far."
Siticable has planned an array of live consumer demos and road shows that would provide a one-to-one interface with consumers from various localities of south Delhi. The first such forum was addressed yesterday by company executives at the Vasant Kunj community centre.
The company has plans to use mobile vans, positioned at strategic points within the city, for making consumers aware about CAS, boxes and other such issues. These vans will receive direct signals from the head-end in the sky and provide the public with live demos of the Galaxzee.