MUMBAI: By introducing a new compression technology to its network, Direct To Home (DTH) operator Tata Sky will soon be adding 20 new channels to its platform including an unspecified number of HD channels.

At present, Tata Sky offers 300 channels. The upgrade work meanwhile has hurt close to 17,000 subscribers who received disrupted services during the last few days. The DTH operator has a subscription base of 10 million active subscribers.

According to a PTI report, Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal said that the company had got additional capacity due to its timely decision to shift from MPEG 2 format to MPEG 4 format. “It cost us money, but helped us,” he said.

Due to the digitisation programme, Tata Sky is expecting the DTH industry to add four million subscribers every year. Nagpal foresees the industry to grow in the next five to six years as there is enough opportunity since digitisation of analogue delivery system of home cable TV is in progress.

The operator is also undergoing a tariff hike for its subscribers. "Every year, we go for a price hike in March, which is roughly four per cent. Last year, it was Rs 230 and this year we have increased it to Rs 240,” he told PTI.

The company has average revenue per user (ARPU) of Rs 250 and has a growth of over five per cent on a year-on-year basis. Nagpal stated that Tata Sky would like to keep its ARPU constant and grow its base by adding customers from small places.

He also informed that the disruption in services was because the platform changed compression standards every three to four months. To address the concerns of its customers, the DTH operator has sent its engineers to their place to resolve the issue.