India Broadband Forum

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Dish TV sees green signal in infotainment promise
Source: The Hindu Business Line

New Delhi, July 3 The Railway Budget’s promise to introduce infotainment services on select trains has Dish TV excited. Essel’s Direct to Home company has been running trials with the Indian Railways for a while to offer television channels to passengers.

The service would be introduced “on Rajdhanis, Shatabdis and important long distance inter-city trains for a pleasurable travel experience” said the Railway Minister, Ms Mamata Banerjee.

“We have done some installations for the inspection carriages. The concept is fully proven and we and Railways are very happy and excited with the results. The Railways are evaluating the implementation and commercial aspect of the concept and we believe very soon passengers will be able to enjoy Dish TV on trains,” said Mr Salil Kapoor, Chief Operating Operator, Dish TV.

The company’s mobile DTH unit comes in two models — priced at Rs 1,49,000 and Rs 79,000. A special built-in roving antenna of about 3-4 kgs, fitted on the roof of the vehicle, receives DTH signals even when the vehicle is on the move.

Interested parties


The company claims the service has attracted interest from inter-city luxury bus segment, airlines, railways, yachts and ships in addition to sports utility vehicles in which you can see a 100 channels. Mobile Dish TV units are also fitted on board 15 Kingfisher aircraft on which CNBC English, CNN, NDTV 24X7, Ten Sports and a host of Zee’s channels including Zee TV.

However, there are a few challenges to overcome, including where to position the screen in each cubicle and how to ensure they stay fixed on trains.