NEW DELHI: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has issued show-cause notices to those MSOs who have failed to provide digitization details to the government, including the number of boxes seeded in their areas of operation.

Quoting earlier government directives, MIB told the errant MSOs today in an official note that they had not submitted details of their headends, subscriber management system, number of mandatory TV channels being carried on their networks, apart from the total number of boxes seeded in the market. This information was to have been uploaded by MSOs at a designated place earmarked by MIB.

“Whereas you have failed to furnish the said details to the Ministry within the stipulated time frame…why not your MSO registration be terminated/canceled?” the government has asked, directing the MSOs to provide the details within 15 days from 31 August 2017.

Officially, the whole country was deemed digital on 1 April 2017, but in private both the government and industry stakeholders opine that pockets of analog TV distribution still persist and boxes are still being seeded in phase IV areas comprising small towns and villages primarily in rural areas and India’s hinterland.

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