DIGITALISATION OF CABLE TV INDUSTRY

Conax Conditional Access gives the operators a tool in a secure manner to control who is the recipient of the content in the cable.

CQ. How important is the need for digital migration for the telecommunication and broadcasting sector? 

Tryggve : Conax view is that the digitalization of TV and Telecommunication gives the cable operators a unique opportunity to add additional revenue to the existing TV business. Conax experience from western markets is that more and more households want simplicity in their daily doings and to have one invoice covering many services is a competitive advantage. This has given an increased focus on triple play services as the technology is now ready for this. Many cable operators are now incredibly successful in offering triple play services and this is in any case made as a bundle between digital TV, broadband access and IP telephony services. 

To be able to have an efficient Triple Play offering, it is beneficial for the cable operators to move all TV signals to digital services as this frees a lot of bandwidth in the cable networks. 

CQ. What has been Conax's role in taking forward the process of digital migration in various countries? 

Tryggve : As Conax has cable operators as customers in more than 50 countries, the Conax approach has been to provide the cable operators with the tools needed to make a cost efficient transition from analogue to digital TV services in their networks. Conax has through the very open Conax STB policy contributed heavily in the process of making a real competition at the STB market driving the prices to a level where it is possible for the cable operators to invest in digital TV. Conax security solutions as such are cost efficient for the cable operators and in addition, Conax will later this year launch an even more cost efficient product for digitalization of operations. 

CQ. Do you think the implementation of Conditional Access System in the metropolitan India will help in expediting the shift to advanced solutions for innovative technology?

Tryggve : Conax believes that the introduction of Conditional Access Systems in conjunction with the digitalization of the cable operators open up many possibilities for both the cable operators and the customers. Triple Play is mentioned above, but the introduction of Conditional Access makes it possible for the operator to access the individual customer and tailor the offering to the customer needs. Introduction of Conditional Access will also give the possibility to add on services such as Video on Demand and library access over time as these are services supported through Conax conditional access. CQ. In your view what is the need to have digital content protection? How does the concept help?

Tryggve : Conax has the understanding that illegal distribution of content is a problem in some operations in India. By introducing Conax conditional access, these problems can be limited as Conditional Access gives the operators a tool in a secure manner to control who is the recipient of the content in the cable. Over time it is beneficial for everyone that the consumer pays for the content actually consumed as this will give the possibility to have more content into the operation as the cable operators will be trusted by the content providers and over time all cable customers will have a complete offering of both advanced content and services. 

CQ. What has been your experience in curbing piracy through your CAS? 

Tryggve : Conax has not been bothered with piracy over the last four years. Conax security policy has proven very successful when it comes to keeping the Conax Conditional Access as a secure system. Aspect around this can be discussed in over the table meetings. 

CQ. Conax has been in the Indian market since long. What strategies Conax has to gain a larger foothold in rest of India. 

Tryggve : Conax is already well positioned in the DTH market in India, but will during 2007 launch a solution for cost efficient digitalization for cable operators that hopefully will put Conax in a position where the cable operators see that the best solution is offered by Conax. In this matter, Conax will also cooperate with the Indian industry to find a local STB partner to be able to offer a solution for digitalization that can benefit all aspects of Indian industry

CQ. What will be the challenges and impediments for the new technological solutions to come in mass markets like India and China where cost plays a major role?

Tryggve : To have a cost efficient product that can take the first wave of digitalization is of high importance. Conax policy is now to launch a very cost efficient product that supports the basic requirements for digitalization and give the operator the possibility to introduce more advanced technology when advanced services are introduced in the digital TV operation. Conax will maintain a strong focus on security, but see that there in some cases can be a conflict between price issues and security issues.

Source: http://cablequest.org/articles/cable-tv/item/1306-digitalisation-of-cable-tv-industry.htmlSource: http://cablequest.org/articles/cable-tv/item/1306-digitalisation-of-cable-tv-industry.html