Fully digital by 2015

India’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry announced recently that the deadline for the shift from analogue to digital systems has been set as the 31st March 2015, according to The Times of India.
The proposal has been sent to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and will subsequently be put before the Union Cabinet for approval.
The switch over is expected to take place in phases, Phase I starting with the four metropolitan areas of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai which will shift to digital by the 31st March 2012.
Phase II will include 35 cities with populations of more than one million, such as Patna, Chandigarh, Pune and Bangalore, switching by the 31st March 2013. All urban areas are expected to digitise by the 30th November 2014 and the remaining areas, by 31 March 2015.
Broadcast regulator TRAI had previously recommended that Phase I be finalised by March this year but this latest announcement officially postpones the date by one year.
Industry insiders said digitisation would bring prices down, not just that of set-top boxes, but also carriage fees, by as much as half.
Source: Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union
Item added: 7th February 2011