NXT Digital eyes 2 mn cable TV users

It helps cable operators and MSOs go digital

Hyderabad: NXT Digital, a technology platform from Hinduja Group’s Grant Investrade Limited (GIL) that helps cable operators and multi-system operators (MSOs) go digital, is targeting over 20 lakh cable TV customers across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

“Both the Telugu states account for over 14 million TV households. Of them, 3.5 million subscribers access television via DTH services. We are targeting 2 million subscribers in near term,” Tony D’silva, Managing Director, GIL, told media here on Tuesday after announcing details about NXT Digital, the Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS) technology network.

He further described AP and TS as the most important market for the company in the roll-out of DAS (Digitally Addressable Systems) in Phase 3 and 4. “Over the past few weeks, we have met and demonstrated our services to cable operators and MSOs five key districts across AP and Telangana, including Hyderabad, Kurnool, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati,” he said.

GIL which is gearing up to launch HITS services in two to three weeks across the country has so far invested $80 million. “Of this, we have invested $55 million in the state-of-the-art broadcast centre in Noida. The remaining amount has gone into rollout of the services across India. We are going to invest $20 million by end of the current fiscal,” D’silva explained.

NXT Digital service will provide television channels to cable operators through satellite instead of traditional headend where multitudes of satellite dishes and antennas are used to grab cable stations from dozens of communication satellites. The low comparative capital investment is expected to be the biggest draw for the network owner, apart from the additional revenue opportunity through value added services.