Cisco's solutions now reach over 40 million homes in India

Company is enabling a rich and advanced TV experience for more than 200 million viewers in India

Networking solutions giant Cisco today said it now reaches over 40 million Indian homes through its VideoGuard Conditional Access and Digital Rights Management offerings.

Conditional Access (CA) solution is a technology used to control access to digital television services to authorised users by encrypting the transmitted programming.

The US-based firm is a pay-TV technology partner for over 150 pay-TV operators and media and entertainment companies worldwide, including leading direct-to-home (DTH) and cable operator customers in India like Airtel Digital TV, Asianet, DEN, GTPL, Hathway and Tata Sky.

Using the industry estimated average of five people per household, Cisco is enabling a rich and advanced TV experience for more than 200 million viewers in India, an important milestone that reinforces the company's leadership at a time when the pay-TV industry is on the cusp of a major transformation, the firm said in a statement.

"Achieving the milestone of 40 million homes in India reinforces our commitment to the government's mandate to digitalise the cable industry and also speaks of our ability to provide best in class solutions and technology," Cisco President (India and SAARC) Dinesh Malkani said.

A strong team of engineers working at the Research and Development centre in Bangalore is dedicated to the technology needs of leading satellite and cable service providers in India and worldwide, he added.

Cisco Asia Pacific Vice President Sales (Service Provider Video Software Solutions) Sue Taylor said that in the changing landscape of pay-TV services in India, this milestone highlights Cisco's continued growth with several leading MSOs in the country.

Cisco state-of-the-art VideoGuard CA and DRM technology ensures critical protection of premium content with a zero piracy track record, Taylor added.