Hyderabad : Targeting the next phase of cable TV digitization in tier-2 and 3 cities, Hinduja Group’s Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS) network Nxt Digital is targeting 2000 operators across five cities in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Grant Investrade Limited, a subsidiary of Hinduja Ventures Ltd, plans on investing an additional USD 20 million (Rs 120 crore) in Hinduja’s HITS network Nxt Digital business by the end of this fiscal, taking up the total investment value of HITS network to USD 100 million (Rs 600 crore).
Nxt Digital is in the process of convincing the Cable operators to join them in implementing the HITS network in order to minimise the burden of huge investment required for digitisation with an assurance of retaining their business intact. This in turn will help Nxt Digital to implement the HITS network across markets at a much faster phase.
The services rolled out a month back has already signed on 10 lakh subscribers through Last Mile Owners and Multi System Operators, making the transition from analog to digital TV easier for the operators.
“We estimate that the market across AP and Telangana is 1.4 crore households of which 35 lakh have Direct To Home (DTH) connections. We are targeting another 10 lakh subscribers through our reach in Hyderabad, Kurnool, Vijaywada, Vizag and Tirupathi,” said Tony D’Silva, managing director of Grant Investrade Limited.
Nxt Digital has also signed an MoU with an Indian manufacturer in Maharashtra to roll out specially designed set top boxes (STB) aimed at better connectivity in the C-Band HITS operates in. The MoU will benefit operators to order and install STBs on a need-basis with a cash and carry option.
Digitally Adressable Systems (DAS) roll-out in phase 3 markets will see around 5 crore analog households convert to digital by end of 2015 and phase 4 will see 6 crore households going digital by end of 2016, according to research done by Nxt Digital.
