However, things won't be as rosy as they look. First, the economics don't favour the new technologies. With average speeds of between 8 and 20 MB, broadband monthly charges are expected to be in the $15-25 (Rs 675-1,125) range, depending on usage and customer requirements. That's 3-6 times the subscription rate for cable or DTH. For DTH, the customer will have to pay additional for the equipment, including the dish and the set-top box. While Dish TV is charging Rs 4,310 for the equipment, plus a monthly fee of Rs 220, Space TV, say sources, will sell its set-top boxes for about Rs 3,000 and keep the monthly fee at around Rs 300. And one has to add the extra Rs 2,000 one-time payment for security deposit, membership fees and installation charges. Although Doordarshan's DTH service will be free-to-air, the customer will still have to pay Rs 5,500 for the equipment.
There are other limitations with DTH. It operates on the Ku band that is susceptible to adverse weather conditions. Content sharing is a grey area as it's difficult to get competing broadcasters to come together on a single platform. Which means if you subscribe to Zee's Dish TV, you may not be able to view channels from the Star stable. And vice-versa for Space TV. DTH set-top boxes may be company-specific and it may not be possible to switch services unless one buys fresh equipment. But the government, say industry sources, is working on the inter-operability of set-top boxes and interconnection and the new rules may be announced after the elections. If rules permit sometime in the future, DTH could also give broadband a run for its money. For, the technology allows DTH to offer wireless internet and other value-added services at much cheaper costs compared to broadband.
Whatever may be the shape of things to come, the fact is that all technologies can coexist. For example, CAS and DTH have sizeable bases in France, UK, Portugal, Malaysia and some West Asian nations. But in most of these countries, CAS offers video-on-demand and time-shifted TV like broadband. So, there's a possibility that all the technologies will survive in India. In the end, it will be the customer who decides which ones will thrive and which sputters off.
