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ETH to start direct-to-home TV in January

"ETH will apply for the license and we will, with a group of broadcasters, launch our DTH service in India on January 17," C Sivasankaran, chairman of the Sterling Infotech group, ETH's leading shareholder told Reuters.

Earlier on Thursday, the Indian government said it would throw open DTH broadcasting to private firms.

Sivsankaran said his firm would be making an investment of Rs 13.5 billion in the venture and would use three Ku-band transponders the firm owned on Singapore Telecom's (SingTel) ST-1 satellite for the broadcasts.

"We are also one of the first companies in the world to have developed a set-top box with a digital video disc player and will be selling them for Rs 4,995 rupees a unit," he said.

DTH broadcasting involves beaming programmes from satellites directly to subscribers through small dish antennae bypassing conventional cable networks that usually use large-sized antennae.

DTH can easily cover larger areas, including remote locations, and earn direct subscription revenue because the broadcast is accessed and metered by set-top boxes.

The Sterling Infotech group currently has interests in the Internet Service Provider business and mobile telephony.

SEE ALSO
49% foreign investment limit for DTH
Government gives green signal to DTH

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