Guwahati, Aug. 5: Cable operators in the Northeast will now be able to deliver cost-effective and quality digital services to a wider spectrum of homes with the launch of a new technology in the region by Grant Investrade Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mumbai-based Hinduja Ventures Ltd.

The new platform, headend-in-the-sky (HITS), boasts a wider reach, even in far-flung and rural areas, and ensures digital delivery in the most effective and economical manner.

Grant Investrade had acquired the licence to operate the service marketed under the brand, NXT Digital, last month.

"The service, which will be rolled out later this month, is ideal for a region like the Northeast that has a hilly terrain. Under this service, cable operators in the remotest of areas can set up a unit and receive signals in the 'C' band frequency," Subhashish Mazumdar, senior vice president, Grant Investrade Ltd (Hinduja Group), told The Telegraph.

"We are here to help the distribution fraternity in analogue markets make a smooth and timely transition to digital. The service will also help operators become independent and retain the ownership of their network," Mazumdar added.

Under the HITS system, pay channels are received from their respective satellites at one centralised location. The channels are then decoded, combined and re-encrypted with a common encryption and thereafter the signals are again uplinked to a satellite. They are then downlinked by individual MSOs/cable operators at their head-end (control room).

What's more, the HITS service will enable small cable operators and multi-system operators to receive digital signals of channels through minimal equipment.

"As the operators do not have to set up an independent subscriber management system or upgrade network capacity like the conventional analogue mode, the investment incurred is that much less. There are around 15 multi-service operators and 400 cable operators in the region and we are targeting them under the last two phases of network digitisation," Mazumdar said.

"The company is investing over Rs 1,000 crore in this service, including a state-of-the-art broadcast facility in Noida," he said.

There are reportedly around 2.5 million homes covered by cable operators and MSOs in the Northeast while the country has over 100 million subscribers.

The Centre has made it mandatory for digital broadcasting by cable operators and MSOs under phase three of cable TV digitisation by December this year.

Under the digitisation programme, cable operators and MSOs are required to shift to digital broadcasting across the country by 2016. The first two phases, which covered metros and major cities, have been completed.