India is supposed to have one of the largest subscribers of DTH today in the entire world. As per a report published in 2017, there were 66.99 million active paid subscribers in the country excluding the subscribers who access free DTH service.
Till about the end of the last decade most of us watched popular channels on TV and our favorite programs through cable network. The broadcaster or the TV channels were tied up with the cable networks and against a monthly subscription value the cable network was available at our homes. In 2000, the scenario was set to change and by 2010 most homes in urban India had shifted to DTH service. The reasons behind the success of DTH are:
- Flexibility of choosing the channels is with the customer in DTH. Choose a bouquet pack or create your own package with channels of your choice. There is also the option of adding a particular channel at any point in time. These are not available with cable TV.
- Flexibility of temporary suspension of one’s account especially if one is travelling out of town for sometime which could a period of few days to few months. Once back in town, the services can be resumed within minutes by DTH Recharge. With cable TV, you would need to pay the subscriber fees every month irrespective of whether you are home or not.
- In the event of power cut in the area, the Cable TV network will also be suspended till power resumes back. With a DTH service, if one has power backup facilities like inverters or generators with which the TV is connected, you will be able to enjoy your favorite programs as DTH service providers operate 24×7.
- DTH Recharge is easy and convenient as it can be done online from the company‘s website or recharge sellers like PhonePe, Mobikwik and Paytm. This is not the case with cable TV.
- Other than DTH service providers offering a larger number of channels as compared to Cable TV, there are other value added services like Video on demand and HD recording on paid basis.
- It is possible to upgrade the existing set top box from SD to HD to 4K with DTH Services. Not possible with cable TV.
- All DTH service providers in India have their toll free customer care numbers that can be accessed by customers at any time of the day. From DTH Recharge related issues to relocations or set top box not working properly they handle all queries and provide timely solutions. The service engineers are promptly sent to check the dish, the set top box and other technical details. Such level of service is difficult to match by the local cable guys.
The only downside to the DTH service is the transmission failure that occurs during windy, stormy, cloudy and rainy weather outside when the link between the satellite and the dish is lost. Though there are talks of upgrading to the MPEG4 technology that will eliminate this issue too.