Guwahati, Feb. 12: The cable television industry in the Northeast has received a shot in the arm with Ahmedabad-based Gujarat Telelink Private Ltd (GTPL) buying a majority stake in an Assam-based cable TV network.
Gujarat Telelink formally acquired 51 per cent stake in V&S Cable Private Limited, a Dibrugarh-based multi-system operator having a presence in three Upper Assam districts — Sivasagar, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia (towns of Tinsukia, Digboi, Sivasagar, Demow, Moran, Margherita and Ledo).
GTPL president Sumit Bose told The Telegraph, “We have been on an expansion drive over the past two years. We had acquired a similar stake in Kolkata Cable and Broadband Pariseva to make a foray into Bengal about two years back. The response was overwhelming and there were positive enquiries from cable operators about the network. V&S was among them and the process started. The pre-deal arrangement, made about nine months back, through which we had to provide digital services, turned out to be a success as well.”
One of the largest digital cable television and broadband services companies of Gujarat, GTPL is a joint venture with 50 per cent stake owned by Hathway Cable & Datacom — one of the largest multi-system operator and cable broadband service providers in India. With fibre optics backbone and state-of-the-art distribution and convergence technologies, GTPL has also spread across Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Bihar, transforming the way viewers seek information for development and entertainment on cable TV.
Asked about any other similar tie-ups, he said, “We are open to other cable operators in the Northeast as well,” declining to disclose the acquisition price.
Sources in the industry, however, said GTPL would be paying around Rs 1.2 crore for the stake purchase.
In August 2010, TRAI had worked out a framework for implementing digitisation, enumerating several measures such as fiscal incentives and right of way, among others, and had given its recommendations to implement digitisation of cable systems all over India by December 2013 in a phased manner.
“This is for the first time in Assam that the STM (synchronized transmission module), through which huge data can be transferred at low bandwidth to a set-top box, will be used. GTPL will be providing us infrastructure and technological back-up services. The stake apart, an investment of about Rs 70 lakh will go into setting up the infrastructure. As of now, we have 180 digital and 88 analog channels. By June, we plan to have 300 digital channels, thanks to the acquisition,” V&S managing director Sanjay Deb said.
V&S, which started operations in 2009 and currently has around 400 operators under it, had for the first time laid an underground fibre network of 350km.
The acquisition has come at a right time.
“A digital control room that caters to the rural and semi-rural areas involves a huge cost. So this stake purchase by a frontline company has come at the right time. It is a win-win situation. We have the technology and the viewers get a digital experience,” Deb added.
Assam Cable Communication (ACC), a Guwahati-based multi-system operator, also has a 10 per cent stake in V&S. “The move augurs well for the operators and the consumers as well. The process of acquisition by GTPL started about a year back. The initiative will invite more investors to the small scale sector,” Sanjeev Narayan, adviser to the ACC, said.
The ACC, on its part, has tied up with CISCO Capital for its digitisation initiative. “CISCO has provided us with infrastructure, including set-top boxes, for which we have been able to provide the customers with as many as 238 digital channels for a nominal monthly fee. The set-top box, which costs Rs 2,500, too, has been provided at a highly subsidised rate. So, we have a system in place well before the TRAI deadline, which is September 2013 for Guwahati. For Dibrugarh and other towns, the deadline has been extended to December 2014,” Narayan added.
