(2 December 2009 10:15 pm)

MUMBAI: NDS, the digital pay TV technology solutions provider, has appointed Surbhi Broadband, a cable TV equipment manufacturer and supplier, as its authorised reseller for the Indian market.

Surbhi Broadband will sell NDS’ payTV solutions, including the NDS VideoGuard conditional access (CA) system.

The partnership will allow NDS and its customers to take advantage of Surbhi’s understanding of the Indian cable and broadband markets and its local expertise in hardware and software systems integration, NDS said in a release.

The two companies will work together to offer digital cable TV solutions that are easy to implement and integrate, ensuring fast time to market while minimising operational costs.

Surbhi will promote and sell NDS’ VideoGuard CA, MediaHighway set top box software and Electronic Programme Guides (EPG) in India. Surbhi will also manage the headend integration for customers and supply NDS smartcards.

Surbhi Broadband GM sales Piyush Mishra said, “With this partnership we aim to offer solutions that are affordable, scalable and highly relevant to small and medium sized cable operators in India. We trust that our collaboration with NDS and the availability of cost effective solutions will help promote the growth of the Indian digital cable TV market.”

Surbhi Broadband and NDS will work together to provide a one stop shop for cable operators planning to go digital. Indian operators will be able to pay for NDS products and services in the local currency instead of in US dollars, making their transactions simpler and more cost effective.

NDS claims that its VideoGuard currently protects over 111 million digital devices around the world. NDS MediaHighway set-top box software has been deployed in over 128 million devices worldwide.

NDS Asia Pacific SVP and GM Sue Taylor said, “With Surbhi Broadband and NDS, operators will get access to reliable, hardware and software solutions for digital cable TV platforms and services all under one roof. This will help our customers as it means that digital TV deployment becomes easier and more cost effective.”