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The cable and feed operators have urged the government to extend the deadline for digitising the satellite channel connection system.
Citing fund crunch and lack of preparation, they said it would require more time to do the job.
Earlier on October 31, Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud directed all the cable operators to provide services by using set-top boxes.
“It has to be operational by November 30 in Dhaka and Chittagong and for other popular districts by December 31,” the minister also categorically said.
According to a ministry notification, users will no longer be able to watch satellite channels without the set-top box after the deadline.
The government is also losing around Tk 125-Tk 150 crore in revenue every month because of the existing analogue system.
Besides, both the cable and feed operators are also being deprived financially as the analogue system does not allow to track the numbers of the consumers, using the satellite channels connection.
A set-top box is a device that allows a TV set to receive the signal directly from the satellite and then decode it, allowing viewers to watch the high-resolution digital video and sharper audio in their television sets.
However, cable operators are claiming that they have already placed digital heads at their ends and now customers have to purchase such a set-top box from them to make such service operational.
While talking to The Business Post, Cable Operators Association of Bangladesh founder president SM Anwar Parvez said, “We are technically ready to digitise our satellite channels as per government’s plan but the crucial factor is now the huge investment, which is required for purchasing the needed set-top boxes.”
“We don’t have that much to purchase the set-top boxes that need to be purchased from China, the deadline does not provide enough time to switch from the analogue system completely,” he added.
Anwar also said that there are 4,000 cable operators in Bangladesh, out of which around 850 in Dhaka and Chittagong.
“There are operators who have between 500-4,000 subscribers. Each of the subscribers need to purchase a set-top box from their respective operators, which may cost them Tk 1,500-Tk 2,000 and some even more with better functionality,” he added.
Regarding the information minister’s suggestion to charge for the set-top boxes in instalments from customers, Anwar said, “As we are unable to invest that much money at the moment, implementation of the plan is still possible only if the banks provide us loans at least for 1-3 years.”
“We are trying to get such loans but didn’t receive any positive signs from the banks.”
“There’s no manufacturing plant to make set-top boxes in Bangladesh. Simultaneously, there is a crisis of set-top boxes in the market,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Feed Operators Association of Bangladesh on Tuesday said that the deadline for implementing the government’s plan should be extended by at least another six months.
They have claimed that COAB gives one-sided advice to the government in formulating the plan, as their issues were not even considered before framing such a plan.
“The cable operator and feed operator sector needs to be recognized as a ‘technology-based industry’.
The government should provide us loans from banks and financial institutions for setting up fibre optics infrastructure to digitalize the feed network and also for digital set-top boxes,” claimed Engineer Faruk Amjad Khan, a spokesman for the organisation.
Meanwhile, big operators such as Akash DTH and Bengal Media Ltd have been using the set-top box from the beginning.
When asked whether the DTH service will grab the whole market, Anwar said, “We are not at all worried about DTH services.
“Usually, it takes more time to grab the market by DTH rather than by the cable TV operators. As Bangladeshi urban people prefer local cable operators’ service rather than DTH service,” he said.
Strongly opposing such statement, Muhammad Abul Khair Chowdhury, head of marketing and business development of Akash DTH, told The Business Post that their experience shows that four and a half lakh subscribers of Akash DTH have felt that they have been deprived of quality service by using cable services by the operators.
“Since the TV set has been modernized, the connection must also be equipped with modern technology. Otherwise, the customer will not get the real benefit of the advanced technology,” he added.
“Around nine lakh illegal DTH connections are operational by evading government tax. Now, the government is taking action in this regard. As long as the market is in good shape, Akash will be able to do more fair business as the only legitimate DTH operator,” claimed Chowdhury.
Despite several attempts were made by The Business Post to reach the authorities concerned for a comment on this matter, nobody could be available till filing this report.
