Latens is the pioneer of software-based, cardless conditional access systems (CAS). It also owns middleware and other parts of pay TV technology. A cardless CAS cuts the cost of a set-top-box (STB) by a dollar or more. That is why one of the world’s largest STB vendors, Pace Networks, bought Latens out for £28.75 million in 2010. The £1.3-billion Pace Networks essentially sells all varieties of pay TV technology that can be deployed across platforms such as IPTV, the mobile or any other device. As the Indian market readies for mandatory digitisation, every major technology company’s chief has been visiting India. On one such visit, Vanita Kohli-Khandekar spoke to Carmi Bogot, president Latens. Edited excerpts:
On Latens pay TV technology versus that of rivals
Our technology and solution is perfect for India as it is a software-based solution. There is no need for a smart card. So you reduce the costs and because it is software-based, it is easier to deploy and more flexible. You want 40,000, 50,000 or a 100,000 CAS systems, they can be deployed. It is particularly suited for cable in India because it is fragmented. There are many small cable operators and Latens is quicker and easier to deploy for these companies.
How difficult is the India market?
All markets are price-sensitive, India particularly so. Therefore it doesn’t leave any room for error. So we are deploying a very low margin solution in a market where the infrastructure to deploy large numbers is not quite there. Sure it is software, but there is still the box.
What’s your experience been in markets like India, where analog cable is a strong incumbent?
Analog cable is hard to control and count. Digitisation will first give information on how many people are watching what. It will also increase bandwidth by 10-12 times. Just like India there were lots of small cable companies in the US as well. Only consolidation there happened faster.
Your view on the shift to online viewing of TV and its impact on traditional broadcast?
OTT (over-the-top, what online viewing is called in mature markets) is increasing, but pay TV is not going down. Therefore there is additional viewing happening not replacement viewing.
