Big TV Reaches Mount Everest

Reliance has gone where no DTH service provider has dared to go, not out of space but the company recently started servicing the base camp of Mount Everest at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM), situated 15,317feet above sea level at Dropadi ka Danda.

According to the company a team of 24 members braved snowstorms and temperatures reaching 3 degrees to trek from Uttarkashi to the base camp from the 26th to the 30th of November.

Big TV has a 300 member installation team in North India that have been trained to access the mountainous region to set up their DTH service there.

Mahesh Prasad, president, Reliance Communication, said, "Big TV holds the biggest market share in both Uttarakhand (also known as Uttaranchal) and Himachal Preadesh. On an all-India basis, Big TV has achieved one million subscribers within 90 days of its launch, to become the fastest-growing DTH service in India."

Big TV acquired 44% of the market share in Himachal Pradesh in less than the 90 days since it entered the mountainous state. The company has also got hold of 60% of the market share in the remote areas of Rohru, Kotkhai, Karsog, Nadaun and Palampur.

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Big TV's One Antenna, Multiple Connection Service

Big TV is making rapid strides in the DTH market with continuous innovation. Reliance is now going to provide Multi-Dwelling Unit (MDU) installation service, a customised DTH service, where a single dish antenna can provide DTH connection to multiple households.

Hence every household need not install individual dish antennas, as the individual set-top boxes will be linked to a large dish antenna. The Multi-Dwelling Units is primarily targeting group volumes in residential societies, commercial buildings, new township, business parks, etc.

The MDU dish size varies between 90 cms and 120 cms, depending on the number of households it services. Reliance will incur the cost of the hardware and also offer one STB to each household. The option to choose their own channel package including the free regional pack will be available.

This move can get Big TV more subscribers as many residential complexes don't like to have too many dish antennas placed on balconies. Big TV holds 15% of the market share after surpassing 1 million subscriber mark within 3 months of its launch.

Big TV has set-up a network of 350 Direct Sales Agents (DSAs) and 500 member installation team to handle MDU business across India. MDUs have already been installed at over 1500 locations, and the installation process is underway at nearly 4000 locations.

Recently the government announced reduction of Cenvat from 14% to 10%, giving some respite to the DTH players who have been planning to increase the price of their services due to the weakening rupee. However, it remains to be seen if this will affect the cost of STBs.

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Can I Use One Dish for Many TVs?

Well in short the answer is yes, although there is a limit of four TV's per connection, I will explain in short how it works to help you understand better. So lets say you have two televisions at home you do not need to get two separate connections, BIG TV provides a 50% off on installation of 2nd, 3rd and 4th connection.

The way it works is quite simple, you will have one dish that connects to a dual Low Noise Block (LNB) converter. The LNB then has two cables running to two different set top boxes (STB), each connected to your televisions. Each STB will have a different viewing card, which is like a SIM card that we have in mobile phones.
You cannot interchange the viewing cards of the STBs, it is also possible for the company to provide you with two separate dish antennae if the dual LNB is not available.

If you are taking a multiple Big TV connection you can get a 50% discount by informing the Big TV Customer Care Executive when you place an installation request.

I have Multiple TVs what will be the Monthly Subscription charge?
You will have to pay the normal subscription cost on the first television, if you have two, three or four TVs you would pay 50% or Rs.125 depending on which is higher, per extra TV.

Although if you choose any other add on packs for the second, third or fourth TV you will be charged at a standard price. If you have more than four televisions the 5th TV will require a new connection registered and will cost you the full amount.

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