Grant Investrade to invest $20 mn to expand digital network

The company last month received license to offer headend-in-the-sky service and is targeting cable operators and multi system operators in small cities and towns

Grant Investrade Ltd (GIL), a subsidiary of Hinduja Ventures Ltd, today said it will be investing $20 million before the end of the current fiscal in spreading its network 'Nxt Digital' across the country.

The company last month received license to offer headend-in-the-sky (HITS) service and is targeting cable operators and multi system operators (MSOs) in small cities and towns to be covered under the last two phases of network digitisation.

HITS service enable small cable operators and MSOs to receive digital signals of channels through less equipment.

"The company, in view of the deadline for Digitally Addressable Systems (DAS) rollout target by the Government, is focusing on the phase 3 and phase 4 markets for its marketing and subscription drive to enable the cable fraternity provide digital services," Tony D'Silva, Managing Director ,GIL told reporters here.

"We have already invested $80 million in creating infrastructure and technology. Another USD 20 million will be invested by the end of this year for rolling out services.

"We are also in discussions with a manufacturer for making Set Top Boxes. We will have no involvement in the manufacturing other then providing them with the design," he said.

DAS rollout in phase 3 markets will see around 50 million analog households convert to digital by end-2015 while, over 60 million households in phase 4 to go digital by end-2016, he added.

By signing up for a Nxt Digital service, a network owner in a phase 3 or 4 market can save huge investments in terms of e technology and highly skilled manpower required to convert his analog households to digital, he added.