The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Tata Sky to launch DTH service by June

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 27, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Tata Sky to launch DTH service by June

Sudhish Kamath

It is an alternative to terrestrial transmission and Dish TV's DTH package

CHENNAI: If you hate Chennai's cable TV scene, liberation is just a few months away. Tata Sky, the joint venture of Tata and STAR, will launch its direct-to-home television by June, as a credible alternative to terrestrial transmission and Dish TV's DTH package. The company recently tied up with Thomson for the set-top boxes and NDS Systems for the smart card technology.

"Our DTH service will completely redefine the television viewing experience in India," said Vikram Kaushik, CEO, Tata Sky. Thomson would manufacture the set-top boxes in India, and provide after-sales service and support network.

"We are committed to building a state-of-the-art DTH operation. NDS Systems will enable us to transfer control and choice into the hands of subscribers," Mr. Kaushik added.

When the company launches its service, it will be among the biggest roll-outs of DTH in India. The scene is currently dominated by Dish TV, which crossed a viewership of two million last year.

"As the largest and most exciting new DTH TV project in the world, we are very proud to have been selected as a key supplier by Tata Sky," said Koen van Driel, senior vice-president, satellite, terrestrial and cable business unit, Thomson.

Tata Sky aims to become India's largest digital television platform, offering consumers a wide array of programming choices with interactive features, superior picture and sound quality, a company spokesperson said.

Unlike cable TV that relies on uninterrupted power supply in the neighbourhood, DTH technology lets the customer completely control his viewing habits. As long as the subscriber has power at home, he can watch what he wants and pay only for what he has subscribed to watch. Both Thomson and NDS Systems are market leaders for subscription television around the world. DTH operators BSkyB (United Kingdom), Foxtel (Australia) and Sky Italia (Italy) use NDS Solutions for securing digital content and managing pay television.

NDS incidentally is also the only system in the world that nobody has ever managed to hack into. Sue Taylor, Vice President and General Manager, NDS Asia Pacific said, "As systems integrator, NDS is uniquely capable of delivering the complex platform in the aggressive timescale set by Tata Sky."

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