Is shortage of STBs pushing the sunset date in Chennai?

The case for the extension of the digitisation deadline is still pending with the Chennai High Court and the next hearing is set for November 9.

While Delhi and Mumbai have gone digital as per the plan on October 31, the other two metros are still facing problems in digitisation.

In Chennai, the court case is on between the cable operators' association and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, for the extension of the sunset date in the metro. Chennai High Court on Monday postponed the hearing of the case to November 9, thus pushing the deadline further.

Justice Paul N Vasanthakumar heard the petition from the Chennai Metro Cable TV Operators Association (MCOA). MCOA is seeking an extension of the deadline on the basis of lack of sufficient number of set top boxes.

The association mentioned the shortage of the set-top-boxes (STBs) as the major problem for the delay. It is known that the HC has asked the two parties to mention the exact number of STBs required.

As per the government's figures based on the 2011 census, the city has 11 lakh subscribers, of which seven lakh are being covered by the DTH players. However, the cable operators state that the figure is far above four million in the city, of which merely 15-20 per cent is digitised.

The cable operators and MSOs in the city are very positive about the extension of the deadline.