MTNL to come out with triple 'sundae' offer

For the 3 lakh broadband subscribers of state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), which provides telecom services in Delhi and Mumbai, here is an offering of phone, Internet and television services in one basket.

From October 21, MTNL is launching internet protocol television (IP-TV) for its broadband customers, who have to pay Rs 199 a month to get 25 free-to-air channels. MTNL plans to increase the number of channels to over 200 later.

Users have to buy a separate set top box to get IP-TV, for which they have to fork out Rs 6,000.

But the offer does not, at least for the time being, look attractive, considering that customers in cities have a range of cheaper alternatives to choose from, like cable, direct-to-home, and also the conditional access system (CAS), which will be implemented in parts of Delhi and Mumbai by the end of this year.

What perhaps will work in IPTV's favour is that users can avail of voice (telephone), internet and TV services on the same broadband line, simultaneously. Users will also be offered various other features which include films and videos on demand and e-governance information.

To put the offering in perspective, it may be pointed out that cable operators currently charge between Rs 200 and Rs 220 a month for 60 to 100 channels. Once CAS (in which you require a set top box) is implemented, it will offer customers more flexibility than IP-TV.

The government has fixed a maximum retail price (MRP) of Rs 5 per pay channel and consumers can pick as many as they want. For the 30 free-to-air channels on CAS, one has to pay Rs 74 a month, which again makes it more attractive than the MTNL offer.