Udupi : Sathyajith Surathkal, a shareholder with the Den UCN Network Private Limited, has demanded an extension of the deadline to install set top boxes.

“The State government should extend the deadline by three months as installing set top boxes for the implementation of digital addressable system (DAS) in Phase III towns is difficult before December 31,” he said, speaking to mediapersons.

“Our multi-system operator (MSO) extends from Byndoor till Suratkal. The stretch covers Udupi, Saligrama, Kundapur, Mulki and Suratkal towns, where digitisation has to be completed under the Phase III of the government circular. About 80 per cent of the households in urban areas have already installed set top boxes,” he added.

“There is shortage of STBs. The supply is limited when compared to the demand. Initially, we had to depend on China for the STB supply. Even now, it takes 40 to 45 days for the supply of STBs once the orders are placed. It would be difficult to install 20 per cent of STBs with limited time. Even if three to four teams with knowledge on STB installation work for the whole day, they can cover only 20 to 25 houses,” he explained.

“The MSOs require two lakh set top boxes, of which 80,000 have been installed so far. We need three months’ time to install 1.20 lakh STBs,” Surathkal demanded.

A memorandum has already been submitted to MP Shobha Karandlaje and the deputy commissioner, seeking three months’ extended time to complete the digitisation process.

Udupi Additional Deputy Commissioner Channabasappa, however, insisted, “All the cable operators should install set top boxed by December 31. Extension of the time is not possible. If the STBs are not installed, then the cable will be disconnected.”