Cable networking systems in Dhaka and Chittagong will be digitized by November 30. A circular will be issued to inform the customers for its implementation. After November 30, the analog system will no longer work in Dhaka and Chittagong. The information will be broadcast through the digital set top box, said the Minister of Information Hasan Mahmud.
He made the remarks after a meeting with representatives of Cable Operators Association, ATCO, Foreign Channel Distributors, Akash and Commerce Ministry at the ministry’s meeting room in the secretariat on Thursday (September 2).
The information minister said the digital platform is ready now, but it is difficult to implement if viewers are not given a set top box and if they do not take it. That is why we will issue a circular. Apart from the divisional and metropolitan cities, Cumilla, Bogra, Dinajpur, Kushtia, Rangamati and Cox’s Bazar will have to digitalize their operating systems by December 31. We will sit in November and decide how to do that in the whole country.
Dr. Hasan Mahmud said that the service providers who are providing internet connection are streaming videos through the internet and showing them on television. There are so many channels being shown without approval, they can’t do it in any way. IP TV is being broadcast through video streaming. Complications are being created with this; One has been entering into other’s domain. With this, we will have meetings with the Ministry of Information, Telecom Department and ICT Department along with the partners.
There are two DTH licenses in the country, he said, adding that one of the two is Akash and the other is BTV. BTV has not gone into action yet, it will go very suddenly. We see that DTH services were being offered in many places in the name of Tata Sky, against which we enforced legal steps and eventually, that is much decreased. Lately, DTH services are being taken from China by bringing setup boxes and putting DIS on others. We will take steps against these. But these cases will be severely dealt. I hope everyone will stop these from today.