The multi-system operator (MSO) with a national presence had picked up the entire stake of the RPG Enterprises in Indian Cable Net, the city's largest MSO, in a sudden move that stunned the industry two weeks ago.

Digitisation, or converting the channel distribution mode to digital through a headend, would help SitiCable offer its consumers more channels and better transmission quality.

"A large number of channels has debuted of late," says a market analyst. "With even more to follow in the coming months, it is necessary for MSOs to upgrade their networks to accommodate them." In an analogue system, each channel occupies around seven MHz whereas in a digital system it takes up only 0.7 MHz of space. This allows a digital network to offer around 880 channels compared to the analogue's 110.

"We will also consolidate our position in Calcutta as the largest MSO. That will need considerable investment which smaller MSOs would not be able to make," Goel hopes.

SitiCable recently converted its cable channel -- also called SitiCable -- into a satellite one. "The brand name was already there. We were transporting the channel through tape and that was proving to be logistically expensive and even delaying transmission sometimes," explains Goel.